Frequency of types of parturition and their relationship with maternal characteristics: a cross-sectional analysis

Background: The pathways that are involved for the duration of pregnancy and type of parturition are extremely complex, involving maternal as well as fetal systems. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of types of parturition and their relationship with maternal characteristics among pregnant female patients.Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a non-probability convenient sampling technique was conducted among 195 healthy pregnant females at Obstetrics and Gynaecological Department of Hamdard Hospital, Karachi, from 1st March 2019 to 31st August 2019. After taking written informed consent from the participants, the relevant data were gathered with the help of a structured questionnaire designed specifically for the study. Statistical package for social sciences was used for data entry while the chi-square test was applied for inferential analysis. The duration of the study was six months. Data were entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0. Descriptive analysis was performed by generating means and standard deviations for continuous variables while frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. A Chi-square test was applied to perform the inferential analysis while the significance level was set at 0.05.Results: A total of 195 pregnant females were included in the study, whose mean age was 29.29±5.22 years. The study results showed that BMI before pregnancy (p=0.021), rest is taken during pregnancy (p=0.034) and gravida status (p=0.047) were all significantly associated with the type of parturition among the study participants, but spacing in pregnancies and parity were not.Conclusions: Maternal characteristics were found to be significantly associated with the type of parturition among pregnant females. For gynecologists the maternal characteristics identified in this study may serve as a useful indicator of the type of parturition expected in their patients

Patterns of cancer cell sphere formation in primary cultures of human oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma and neck nodes

YesRecently a sub-population of cells with stem cell characteristics, reported to be associated with initiation, growth, spread and recurrence, has been identified in several solid tumors including oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). The aim of our pilot study was to isolate CD44+ cancer stem cells from primary cultures of OTSCC and neck node Level I (node-I) biopsies, grow cell spheres and observe their characteristics in primary cultures. Parallel cultures of hyperplastic lesions of tongue (non-cancer) were set up as a control. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect CD44/CD24 expression and magnetic activated cell sorting to isolate CD44+ cell populations followed by primary cell culturing. Both OTSCC and node-I biopsies produced floating spheres in suspension, however those grown in hyperplastic and node-I primary cultures did not exhibit self-renewal properties. Lymph node metastatic OTSCC, express higher CD44/CD24 levels, produce cancer cell spheres in larger number and rapidly (24 hours) compared to node negative OTSCC (1 week) and non-cancer specimens (3 weeks). In addition, metastatic OTSCC have the capacity for proliferation for up to three generations in primary culture. This in vitro system will be used to study cancer stem cell behavior, therapeutic drug screening and optimization of radiation dose for elimination of resistant cancer cells.SKMCH&RC, Yorkshire Cancer Researc

Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease, Medication, and Laboratory Investigation among Nephrology and Urology Patients of Quetta, Pakistan

Patients’ awareness is critical in medical care, as it can serve as an input into the adjustment of interventions. The aim of study was to explore the level of awareness regarding chronic kidney disease (CKD), its medications, and laboratory investigations among nephrology and urology patients of Quetta. The cross-sectional study was used by adopting and culturally modifying a questionnaire. By convenient sampling technique, a total of 500 questionnaires were self-administered to inpatients, outpatients, and dialysis patients, and 468 responses (response rate 93.6%) were analyzed. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and reliability analysis were performed on SPSS v25. A majority, 50.3% (n = 235), was unaware of symptoms that will develop due to worsening of disease, while 56.2% (n = 263) were unaware of what aggravates their kidney function. Almost half of the affected individuals, 47.4% (n = 222), have no understanding about the long-term prognosis of the disease. The majority of the respondents, 51.5% (n = 248), do not know about the names and usage of medications, and 62.4% (n = 292) were unaware of the medicines that may impair kidney function; more than half, 66.7% (n = 312) , were unaware about the necessary laboratory investigations. A strong association between awareness and patient education level was found (p < 0.001). Awareness regarding disease condition, medications, and laboratory investigations of CKD among nephrology and urology patients of Quetta was found out to be low, which needs immediate educational intervention

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and barriers towards pharmacovigilance among physicians and pharmacists of Abbottabad, Pakistan

Objectives: Pharmacovigilance in Pakistan needs robust preference in terms of implementation and consistent movement of structured approaches. The objective of this study is to explore the knowledge, attitude and barriers towards adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting among physicians and pharmacists and to explore the encouraging factors of ADR reporting. Methods: The current research was a cross-sectional study design in which a pre-validated questionnaire was administered to physicians and pharmacists in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The study was conducted for two months from January 2016 to February 2016. Results: A total of 194 physicians and pharmacists responded with a response rate of 35.3%. All the respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that ADRs reporting is a part of their duty. Half of the respondents agreed that monitoring of drug safety is important. Around three quarters of respondents (74.2%) stated that they did not report ADRs due to unavailability of reporting forms while 70% cited lack of a proper pharmacovigilance center as one of the key barriers. Half of the respondents (52.2%) did not report due to their insufficient knowledge. A large majority (81.8%) said that they would report ADRs if there is pharmacovigilance center. On the point of incentives, opinion seems to be divided. Slightly less than half (47.8%) cited their wish to have few incentives while the remaining 52.2% either preferred to be neutral or disagreed. Conclusion: Based on the study findings, barriers were mostly related to general unfamiliarity with ADRs reporting guidelines and the non-existence of a pharmacovigilance center. It is highlighted that the regulatory body should carve a niche for a properly functional pharmacovigilance center and initiate educational programs for strengthening knowledge and attitudes towards ADR reporting

Antibiotic Stewardship in Community Pharmacies: A Scoping Review

The increase in antibiotic resistance has frequently been linked to unrestrained antibiotic dispensing. This review was conducted to mainly assess the perception and attitudes of community pharmacists towards antibiotic dispensing. This scoping review was performed between June 2016 and September 2016 to identify published studies related to the perception and attitudes of community pharmacists towards antibiotic dispensing. The combination of terms such as &lsquo;antibiotic dispensing&rsquo;, &lsquo;antimicrobial resistance&rsquo;, &lsquo;community pharmacy&rsquo;, and &lsquo;community pharmacists&rsquo; were searched in electronic databases such as PubMed, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. Only published articles within the last 12 years were included. A total of 13 studies were identified. In general, community pharmacists have good awareness and knowledge of antibiotic dispensing. However, the majority of them are still selling antibiotics to their customers and/or patients for unjustified reasons. The community pharmacists seem well aware of the antimicrobial resistance crisis and considered it a significant health issue. However, many embraced the concept that dispensing antibiotics without medical prescription (DAwMP) can be one of the key features in the dissemination of multidrug resistant bacteria

Exploration of carboxy pyrazole derivatives: Synthesis, alkaline phosphatase, nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase and nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase inhibition studies with potential anticancer profile

In the present work we report the synthesis of new aryl pyrazole derivatives using 1,3-dicarbonyl motifs. The reaction was proceeded by the cyclization of pentane-2,4-dione (1a), 3-chloropentane-2,4-dione (1b) or ethyl 3-oxobutanoate (1c) with different aryl hydrazines. The products, which can be regarded as 1H-pyrazol-1-yl-one analogues (3a-f, 3g-o, 4a-c, 5a-b) and represent drug like molecules along with well-developed structure?activity relationships, were obtained in good to excellent yield. The structures of synthesized compounds were charcterized on the basis of FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and mass spectroscopic data. Considering alkaline phosphatases (APs), nucleotide pyrophosphatases/phosphodiesterases (NPPs) and nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase as the molecular targets, the effects of these synthesized compounds were investigated on different isozymes of APs, NPPs and NTPDases. The data revealed that the synthesized compounds inhibited both enzymes but most of them inhibited tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) more selectively. The antitumor activity results indicated that the synthesized derivatives have strong inhibitory effects on the growth of selected cell lines from different tissues such as breast, bone marrow and cervix (MCF-7, K-562 and Hela) but with varying intensities. Moreover the binding mode of interactions were explained on the basis of molecular docking and in-silico studies.Fil: Channar, Pervaiz Ali. Quaid-i-azam University; PakistánFil: Afzal, Saira. Comsats University Islamabad; PakistánFil: Ejaz, Syeda Abida. Comsats University Islamabad; PakistánFil: Saeed, Aamer. Quaid-i-azam University; PakistánFil: Larik, Fayaz Ali. Quaid-i-azam University; PakistánFil: Mahesar, Parvez Ali. Quaid-i-azam University; Pakistán. Shah Abdul Latif University; PakistánFil: Lecka, Joanna. Laval University; CanadáFil: Sévigny, Jean. Laval University; CanadáFil: Erben, Mauricio Federico. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de la Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica "Dr. Pedro J. Aymonino". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Química Inorgánica "Dr. Pedro J. Aymonino"; ArgentinaFil: Iqbal, Jamshed. Comsats University Islamabad; Pakistá