Defining Terrorism in Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Law

We critically examine the definition of ‘terrorism’ in the Anti-Terrorism 1997 of Pakistan and as it is interpreted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan under the principle of legality in criminal and human rights law standards. We conclude that the definition of terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Act does not pass the test of the principle of legality and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Pakistan is inconsistent confounding the situation further. We recommend that Pakistan, following the principle of legality and human rights standards, amend the current definition of terrorism as an overbroad definition could be misused and abused leading to human rights violations

a study on the administrative cadre service in Bangladesh

Thesis(Master) --KDI School:Master of Public Policy,2013masterpublishedKhurshid Iqbal Rezvi, Md

Characterization and identification of Russula firmula and Russula postiana from Himalayan moist temperate forests of Kashmir

Two ectomycorrhizal species of genus Russula: Russula postiana and Russula firmula (Basidiomycota, Agaricales) have been characterized and identified from Kashmir Himalaya using morpho-anatomical and molecular methods targeting its rDNA. The target internal transcribe spacer (ITS)-rDNA of both species was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with universal fungal primers (ITS1 and ITS4), which generated 700 bp fragments. After sequencing of amplified product, the initial blast analysis revealed and confirmed the identification of both species by comparing the sequences of these respective species present in GenBank. Further, in phylogenetic analysis both species distinctly clustered with their respective groups. Morphological characteristics like shape, size and colour of pileus, stipe and gills, basidiospore size of both the species was measured and compared with data given in literature.Keywords: Ectomycorrhizal, morpho-anatomical, sequencing, phylogeneticAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(23), pp. 3643-364

Association of anti C1q and ds-DNA levels with the pathogenesis of Lupus Nephritis among SLE patients

Background: Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most common and serious complication associated with SLE and it results in significant morbidity and mortality. It is known by several studies that patients of LN have higher levels of anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q compared with SLE patients without renal involvement. The current study was designed to determine and compare the level of anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q in patients of SLE with and without lupus nephritis in the Pakistani population. This current study was also aimed at providing proof that anti-C1q levels are more prominent in LN/non-LN SLE as compared to anti-dsDNA. This project may help in the determination of results in Pakistan and contribute to the further confirmation of the sensitivity of anti-C1q.Method: The patient samples were collected from Sheikh Zayed hospital, Lahore. These patients were clinically diagnosed by the Rheumatologists as SLE and LN positive on the basis of ACR and SLEDAI scoring criteria. This study was performed and samples were analyzed in the Department of Medical and Laboratory Sciences, Imperial College of Business Study, Lahore on the patient’s serum by ELISA technique.Result: About 38% (12) patients with LN were positive for anti-dsDNA and 31% (9) SLE patients without LN were positive whereas about 38.7% (12) were anti-dsDNA negative in LN cases and 58.6% (17) in SLE without LN. In case of anti-C1q 100% (31) of these LN patients were positive and 93.1% (27) patients SLE without LN showed positive anti C1q results. Only 6.9% (2) patients showed negative results for anti-C1q in LN negative patientsConclusion: The higher levels of anti-C1q suggest that it may be a better diagnostic marker for LN than that of anti-dsDNA and that it can be helpful in the prognosis of SLE patients

Expression level of serum Interleukin-37 in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients and its correlation with Disease Activity Score

Background: Interleukin-37 (IL-37) is a member of IL-1 cytokine family. IL-37 immunosuppresses the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis via down-regulating pro-inflammatory cytokines. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the expression level of IL-37 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and its correlation with the disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS-28).Methods: In the current study, forty-six RA patients, having a ratio of 19 males and 27 females, and twenty healthy controls (11 males and 9 females) were included. DAS-28 was measured on the basis of patients’ clinical observations of the tender and swollen joints, physical examination and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). ESR was measured according to the Westergren method. Serum IL-37 level was measured by ELISA. Depending upon the DAS28 calculations the patients were divided in four groups as; 19 in remission, 6 had mild disease activity, 6 were in moderate state and 15 patients were found with severe disease activity.Results: Serum IL-37 levels were found markedly raised in RA patients (mean = 862.6) than in healthy individuals (mean ± SD = 4.4 ± 1.74 pg/ml). Further, our results suggest that level of IL-37 increased significantly from mild (mean ± SD = 829.17 ± 61.40 pg/ml) to moderate (mean ± SD = 1307.5 ± 165.1 pg/ml) and severe (mean ± SD = 1607 ± 86.8 pg/ml) disease prognosis.Conclusion: Thus we conclude, IL-37 has a positive correlation with DAS28 and thus has a potential role in RA pathogenesis. Keywords: Interleukin 37, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disorder, inflammation, disease activity scor

Case-Control Study on Fetal Outcomes in Isolated Oligohydramnios in Third Trimester

Background: Oligohydramnios is defined as a condition with low volume of amniotic fluid relative to gestational age. Long-term oligohydramnios can result in pulmonary hypoplasia, intra uterine growth retardation, Potter’s syndrome, club hand & foot and dislocation of hip. This study was conducted to assess feto-maternal outcome in isolated oligohydramnios and factors associated with poor outcome. Methodology: This case-control study was conducted from January to December 2020 in the Gynecology & Obstetrics and Radiology departments of HBS General Hospital, Islamabad. Total 300 patients with isolated oligohydramnios fulfilling the criterion were included. For cases, patients with singleton intrauterine pregnancy with AFI <5, of any age or parity with gestational age of more than 34 weeks were included. 300 controls were also taken. Patients with increased amount of amniotic fluid, diabetics, hypertensive and cardiac patients were excluded. Patient were followed up till delivery. Mode of delivery was checked out. Fetal APGAR score at 1 minute and at 5 minutes were observed. New born weight and  NICU admissions were recorded. Data was  analyzed via SPSS v26. Results: Forty six percent (n=138) patients underwent caesarean section while fifty four percent (n=162) had normal vaginal delivery. Significant association (OR=1.85, P<0.001) was found between caesarean section in mothers with oligohydramnios compared to controls. Thirty eight percent (n=114) of neonates among cases had low APGAR score. Significant association (OR=3.29, P<0.001) was found between low APGAR score and mothers with oligohydramnios compare3d to controls. Thirty percent (n=90) required NICU  admission. There were 6 still births. Mother’s with oligohydramnios have double risk of still birth and NICU admission compared to women with normal fluid levels. Conclusion: Neonate born with mothers having oligohydramnios have low birth weight, lower APGAR scores and high rate of NICU admissions. Delivery at 37-39 weeks in oligohydramnios is associated with higher rate of still births

Genotypic variants of MYP2 Locus: Analysis for association with High Myopia

Identification of genes involved in the progression of myopia is largely hampered by challenges inherent in mapping genes due to high prevalence, genetic heterogeneity, and wide clinical spectrum of the condition. Genetic mapping studies have identified at least 24 chromosomal loci suspected of harboring genes for myopia progression, MYP1–MYP24 of which MYP2 is considered to be a strong candidate gene locus. Environmental and genetic factors together are attributed to explain the spectrum of geographical and population dependent variations in the incidence of high myopia. Incidently researchers have come up with controversial results with regard to the association of MYP2 locus despite a varied spectrum of polymorphic changes reported in the genes harboured by the locus. The controversy is largely attributed to population heterogeneity. The purity of genetic traits associated with Kashmiri population is likely to minimize the influence of mixed risk/resistance alleles to reliably establish their potential association. One of the three SNPs observed in codon 10 of TGFβ1 showed a significant difference between patients and control subjects (rs1982073: p genotype=0.003, p allele=0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between patients and control subjects for the other two SNPs, rs1800471 at codon 25 and a novel variant at codon 52. In TGIF1 three adjacent novel intronic variations (T>C/A; p=0.04: T>G; p=0.02: G>C; p=0.01) and one novel missense sequence variation G26A (p = <0.001) were observed that show possible association with high myopia. G26A also segregates with gender and degree of myopia (p = 0.05). DLGAP1 gene revealed a total of two polymorphic variations among which G507A (P=1) was novel and one reported polymorphic variation G517A with a significant (P=<0.001) occurrence in affected population. G517A show association with gender and degree of myopia (p=<0.0001). A previously reported variant T451C observed in EMILIN2 gene did not appear to associate with disease phenotype. MYOM1 showed five polymorphic variations; two in coding region (G333A; P=A; P=T & C>G; P= < 0.001) that potentially segregate with the disease phenotype. G333A shows a statistically significant association with gender (p = 0.01) and degree of myopia (p = 0.01) while G341C does not associate with any of the clinical parameters. Among intronic variations, G>T (rs55779127) and C>G (rs8096379) showed significant association with degree of myopia (p=<0.0001 & p=<0.001). The assessment of the ITASSER predicted protein structure showed change in energy for almost all mutants compared to wild type proteins. The results are indicative that the energy changes due to these polymorphic variations may have significant functional consequences