HAEMATOLOGICAL AND PLASMA PROTEIN PROFILE IN FAYOUMI HEN SUFFERING FROM ASCITES

A 9 months old Fayumi layer, having 2.5 kg body weight with distended abdomen was examined. On physical examination, the hen was found anaemic, dyspnoeic and recumbent with pulpy abdomen distended with fluid. Upon aspiration, about 800 ml of straw-coloured fluid was collected which contained proteinitious casts but no fibrin. Haematological examination revealed that RBC counts, haematocrit and WBC counts were 3.5 x 1012/L, 25% and 50 x 109/L, respectively. Differential leukocytic counts revealed that heterophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils were 50, 26, 18 and 6%, respectively, without any basophils. The concentrations of plasma proteins and fibrinogen were 7.9 g/dL and 312 mg/dL, respectively. The hen was given supportive therapy along with antibiotics and flusher

Impact of today\u27s media on university student\u27s body image in Pakistan: a conservative, developing country\u27s perspective

Background: Living in a world greatly controlled by mass media makes it impossible to escape its pervading influence. As media in Pakistan has been free in the true sense of the word for only a few years, its impact on individuals is yet to be assessed. Our study aims to be the first to look at the effect media has on the body image of university students in a conservative, developing country like Pakistan. Also, we introduced the novel concept of body image dissatisfaction as being both negative and positive. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 7 private universities over a period of two weeks in the city of Karachi, Pakistan\u27s largest and most populous city. Convenience sampling was used to select both male and female undergraduate students aged between 18 and 25 and a sample size of 783 was calculated. Results: Of the 784 final respondents, 376 (48%) were males and 408 (52%) females. The mean age of males was 20.77 (+/-1.85) years and females was 20.38 (+/-1.63) years. Out of these, 358 (45.6%) respondents had a positive BID (body image dissatisfaction) score while 426 (54.4%) had a negative BID score. Of the respondents who had positive BID scores, 93 (24.7%) were male and 265 (65.0%) were female. Of the respondents with a negative BID score, 283 (75.3%) were male and 143 (35.0%) were female. The results for BID vs. media exposure were similar in both high and low peer pressure groups. Low media exposure meant positive BID scores and vice versa in both groups (p \u3c 0.0001) showing a statistically significant association between high media exposure and negative body image dissatisfaction. Finally, we looked at the association between gender and image dissatisfaction. Again a statistically significant association was found between positive body image dissatisfaction and female gender and negative body image dissatisfaction and male gender (p \u3c 0.0001). Conclusions: Our study confirmed the tendency of the media to have an overall negative effect on individuals\u27 body image. A striking feature of our study, however, was the finding that negative body image dissatisfaction was found to be more prevalent in males as compared to females. Likewise, positive BID scores were more prevalent amongst females

Cytotoxicity and phytotoxicity of some selected medicinal plants of the family Polygonaceae

The cytotoxicity of the crude methanolic extracts of Rumex hastatus, Rumex dentatus, Rumex nepalensis, Rheum australe, Polygonum persicaria and Polygonum plebejum (Family Polygonaceae) was determined against Artemia salina at 1000, 100 and 10 mg/ml. R. hastatus, R. dentatus and R. nepalensis showed significant activity at a concentration of 1000 mg/ml against Artemia salina. R. australe showed low activity at 1000 mg/ml and no activity at 100 and 10 mg/ml. At concentration of 10 mg/ml, R. australe showed no activity. Similarly the phytotoxicity of the crude extracts of these six plants was determined against Lemna minor. All the plants except R. hastatus showed significant activity at a concentration of 1000 mg/ml. Moderate activity was shown by R. australe, R. nepalensis and P. persicaria at the concentration of 100 mg/ml. All the plants showed low phytotoxic activity at concentration of 10 mg/ml

Role of fibreoptic bronchoscopy in the management of immunocompromised patients with pulmonary infiltrates

Immunocompromised patients are prone to develop various pulmonary complications. The range of diagnostic possibilities is wide, infection being the commonest cause. Non-invasive diagnostic tests are often unrewarding. In this study, we have evaluated the diagnostic efficacy and safety of fibreoptic bronchoscopy in immunocompromised patients with pulmonary infiltrates. Patients tolerated the procedure well. This technique identified the etiology in up tp 75% of cases. After treatment based on the result of bronchoscopy, 63% patients improved and were discharged

Assessment of antibacterial activity of three plants used in Pakistan to cure respiratory diseases

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of Justicia adhatoda, Glycyrrhiza glabra and Hyssopus officinalis extracts were studied against selected bacteria by using agar well diffusion assay. Methanol, ethanol, chloroform, diethyl-ether and aqueous extracts were tested in crude form for antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtillus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus. Maximum antibacterial activity was exhibited by all the three plant extracts. The results obtained with P. aeruginosa were particularly interesting since it was not inhibited by the antibiotic used but the tested plant extracts effectively inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa. Themethanolic extract of J. adhatoda was effective against S. typhimurium. All the plants extract in water were effective against spore forming of B. subtillus while S. aureus and E. coli were not effectively inhibited by extracts of tested plants. The results of analysis of variance have shown significant differences between the species, treatments and interaction between the species and treatments. However, the differences were non-significant between the treatments for G. glabra. The results indicatethat J. adhatoda, G. glabra and H. officinalis present a noteworthy potential of antibacterial activities

CONCOMITANT GASTRIC AND LUNG UPTAKE OF TC-99M MDP ON BONE SCAN IN A PATIENT WITH DIFFUSE LARGE B-CELL NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA

Extra osseous uptake of Tc-99m Methylene Di Phosphonate (MDP) is not an uncommon finding on skeletal scintigraphy. However, concomitant lung and gastric uptake is a rare presentation. We presented a case report of a young male whose bone scan revealed lung and stomach uptake with a cold lesion over T7 vertebra. CT guided biopsy revealed diffuse large B-cell Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Lung and gastric uptake of Tc-99m MDP on bone scan guides the reporting physician about the soft tissue calcinosis due to hypercalcemia associated with either malignant or non-malignant conditions

Hydropriming -a useful technique for seed invigoration in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

Seed germinating ability and stand establishment determine the management options in crop production system. Physiological advancement of seeds through priming is a simple and cost-effective method to improve the germinability and stand of any crop. Studies were performed on seed invigoration through hydropriming at the division of PHT, SKUAST-Kashmir during the year 2016 to optimize the hydropriming duration for improved germi-nation and seedling vigour of okra (Pusa sawani) and parsley (curly type). Freshly harvested seeds were soaked in normal water for varying durations (okra- 12, 18 and 24 h; parsley- 24, 48 and 72 h) at (25±2°C) and re-dried to original moisture content at room temperature. Fifty seeds of each treatment were cultured in 14.0 cm Petri dishes lined with 5 layers of moist blotting paper. Observations on various germination parameters were recorded at (25±2°C). Priming of okra seeds for 18 h resulted in highest FGP (85.7%), GE (66.5%), GI (36.7), SDB (29.1mg) and SVI (2.49) coupled with minimum values of T50 (2.75 day) as well as MGT (2.38 day). However, the highest FGP (78.7%), GE (48.7%), SDB (3.13 mg), GI (12.8) and SVI (0.25) together with minimum T50 (7.2 day) and MGT (6.5 day) in parsley was recorded with 24 h priming duration. As such priming duration of 18 and 24 hours at 25±2°C were found optimal for enhanced and rapid seed germination with vigourous seedlings

Analysis of chemical constituents in medicinal plants of selected districts of Pakhtoonkhwa, Pakistan

Alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins were determined in the Teraxacam officinale, Cichorium intybus and Figonia tritica. Quantative determinations of crude alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins (g kg-1) and their percentages (%) were determined in C. intybus, T. officinale and F. critica collected from Kohat, Mardan, Nowshera and Peshawar regions. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) study of the alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins were carried out with different solvent systems and color of the spot and Rf value of each constituent was determined. Among the samples of C. intybus, relatively higher contents of alkaloids (14 g kg-1) were found in the sample collected from Mardan region, followed by the sample gathered from Nowshera which is equal to 13.8g kg-1. Higher contents of flavonoids were found in C. intybus collected from Kohat region which was 23.48 g kg-1. The other remaining samples of C. intybus ranged in the decreasing order of 19.7, 17.2 and 10.0 g kg-1 for the ones collected from Nowshera, Mardan and Peshawar, respectively. The overall saponin contents remained almost low as compared to the alkaloid and flavonoid contents.Key words: Alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, TLC study, medicinal plants

Evaluation of the Perception of Community Pharmacists Regarding their Role in Pakistan's Healthcare System: A Qualitative Approach

Purpose: To explore the perception of community pharmacists regarding their role in Pakistan's healthcare system.Methods: A qualitative study design was adopted. A semi-structured interview guide was developed and face to face interviews were conducted. The participants were community pharmacists and were recruited through one of the researcher’s personal contacts in two cities of Pakistan (Islamabad and Lahore) from April to June 2008. The interviews were conducted at the pharmacists’ work-place. Arrangements for the time and place of interview were made during initial contacts. Written consent was obtained from the participants prior to the interview.Results: Among the respondents interviewed, seven were male and three female community pharmacists aged between 25 and 50 years. All the participants regularly dispensed > 50 prescriptions daily. Thematic content analysis yielded 5 major themes: (a) provision of pharmacy services to consumers, (b) counseling at pharmacy, (c) application of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP), (d) Pakistan Pharmacy Association (PPA) contribution towards pharmacy profession, and (e) strategies to improve community pharmacies.Conclusion: Community pharmacies in Pakistan currently face shortage of pharmacists. This has resulted in non-provision of patient counseling; rather services are more focused more on the management of pharmacies than clients. As a result, there is little public awareness of the pharmacist’s role in health care.Keywords: Perception, Community pharmacist, Patient care, Pakistan, Qualitative methodology