Awareness and Practice of Contraception in Child Bearing Age Women

Background: To assess the awareness and usage ofvarious methods of family planning among thechild bearing age married women .Methods: In this cross sectional study marriedfemales (n=524) between 15-45 years of age wereselected .Information was obtained regardingknowledge and pattern of utilizing family planning(FP) services. The source of knowledge either frommedia, family members or friends was noted.Information regarding contraceptive methods likenatural, barrier, pills, injectable hormones,intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD), orpermanent method like vasectomy and tubal ligationwas assessed. The reason for selection of thecontraceptive method was asked. The reason for nonpracticeFP was also asked.Results Mean age of the female was 34.12±7.43years. Majority (89%) of the women had awarenessabout contraception and is practised by 51%.. Barriermethod was the most practiced (37.8%) followed bypills (18%) and intra-uterine contraceptive device(17%). Health professionals were the major source ofinformation (64%) while media had least role (7%).About 43% were those who never used anycontraceptive method and those who stoppedmethod later was due to husband disagreement(33%) or due to fear of side effects (>29%).Conclusion. Despite having knowledge, there is awide gap between awareness and practice ofcontraception. One of the major factors amongreasons of non-use of contraception is husband disagreementand fear of side effects. Role of mediashould be encouraged by government to increase thepractice of contraception

Fetomaternal Effects of Obesity in Postdate and Induced Pregnancies

Background : To study the fetomaternal effects of obesity in post date and induced pregnancies. Methods: In this case control study 210 postdate patients were included. They were divided into obese and non-obese groups according to BMI. Patient’s age, parity, and duration of gestation was recorded. Induction was done, mode of delivery, PPH, perinatal outcome i.e. macrosomia, birth outcome, and shoulder dystocia was noted. Results;The mean age was 23.05±3.61 years. All patients were postdate and underwent induction. BMI showed an increase with increase in age.Fifty seven percent of obese compared to 32% of non-obese needed low segment caesarean section (LCSC). Shoulder dystocia occurred in 2% of obese and 1% in non-obese while PPH occurred in 23% and 9.6% in obese and non-obese females respectively. Macrocosmia was encountered in 25% of obese versus 5% non-obese while stillbirth was observed in 3% of obese group.  Clavicle fracture 1% was noticed only in obese females. Conclusion:  Maternal obesity is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancy including operative deliveries, PPH with fetal macrosomia, birth anoxia, and stillbirth. So these women should be treated as high risk pregnancie

Genus Primula and its role in phytomedicine; a systematic review

Background: Primula is one of the prevalent and complex genus of family Primulaceae. Plants of Genus Primula are used in traditional medicine for treating various ailments. These plants are mostly growing in soggy meadows to alpine slopes. Various species are distributed in Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia and South America. Purpose: This review is presented to provides up-to-date research progress in, phytochemistry, pharmacology of Genus Primula. It provides a strong basis for future scientific research in phytomedicine. Method: The relevant literature on Genus Primula was collected by resources i.e., scientific databases including Pubmed, Google Scholar, Google, ACS, Sci hub, Web of science, Science Direct databases and Encyclopedia. Results: Traditionally plants are used to treat eye aliments, respiratory tract infections, headache, epileptic seizures, insomnia, skin problems, ulcers, urinary disorders, expectorant and wound healing process etc. Alkaloids, flavonoids, flavones, glycosides, saponins, sapogenins, tannins, quinolones, terpenes, polysaccharides, volatile oils, coumarins, fatty acid, fatty alcohols, phytosterols, sugar alcohol, miconidin, fatty acid ester and unsaturated higher fatty acids are the medicinally important phytoconstituents of genus species of Primula. Pharmacological studies have shown their prominent biological activities such as antibacterial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antiviral, antileishmanial, antiepileptic, anticancer, cardioprotactive, antiproliferative, anxiolytic, and contraceptive. Conclusion: Species of genus Primula are widely employed in traditional medicine system. It contains potential phytoconstituents which are being used in modern pharmacological research area. This review revealed that primulas are important medicinal plants and have pivotal role in phytomedicine

The Fetomaternal Outcome of Induction of Labour in Idiopathic Oligohydramnios

Objective: To assess fetomaternal outcome of induction of labour in patients with idiopathic oligohydramnios at ANTH to reduce the morbidity associated with increased cesarean section rate and deliver alive healthy babies. Methodology: This quasi experimental study was conducted in the department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Alsuffah hospital Rawalpindi and Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital, Islamabad, over a period of six months from June to Dec 2022. A detailed history was taken followed by a thorough general physical examination and obstetric examination. Routine investigations were performed along with obstetrical ultrasonography. CTG was performed and after ensuring a reactive trace along with no contraindication to vaginal delivery; were offered option of induction of labour after informed consent on predesigned consent form with tab. prostin E2 3mg maximum of two doses with 6 hours apart via vaginal route as per induction of labour protocol at 37 weeks or beyond and were followed-up in OPD till postnatal follow up after 1 week. Results: The mean age of the patients was 26.85 ± 0.46 years. Majority 30 (41.1%) of the patients had parity of 3 or more and most 31 (42.47%) of the females in the study were given induction of labor at 39 weeks’ gestation followed by 27 (36.99%) were given IOL at 38 weeks. The mean value of the amniotic fluid index was 4.35 ± 1.84. Main bulk 34 (46.58%) of the females delivered with cesarean section and most common indication for cesarean section Pathological CTG in 15 (20.55%) patients. Mean birth weight was recorded to be 3.25 ± 0.86 kg and about one third of the babies, 24 (32.88%) babies required admission in NICU. A large number 31 (42.47%) of the children had low APGAR score (< 7) at 5 minutes. Conclusions: The development of foetal distress, meconium-stained liquor, caesarean delivery rates, NICU admission rates, and low birth weight are all linked to pregnancies with isolated oligohydramnios

100% saturated liquid hydrogen production: Mixed-refrigerant cascaded process with two-stage ortho-to-para hydrogen conversion

To reduce CO2 emissions and address climate change concerns, most futuristic studies investigating 100% renewable energy sources and subsequent power-to-gas/fuel/liquid/X technological developments have been based on hydrogen (H-2). The long-term storage and transportation of H-2 over long distances restrict its feasibility as an energy vector, mainly due to its low energy density. Liquefaction is a promising approach for overcoming these issues. However, it requires a large amount of energy, and if H-2 itself is used to provide this energy, then 25% to 35% of the initial quantity of H-2 is consumed. The existing H-2 liquefaction plants have specific energy consumption values in the range of 10-12 kWh/kg(LH2) and exergy efficiencies in the range of 20%-30% with complicated configurations. Therefore, a thermodynamically efficient and compact design is required to facilitate a roadmap to H-2 economy. This paper proposes a simple, energy-efficient, and cost-effective process for H-2 liquefaction. Three refrigeration cycles with optimal mixed-refrigerant compositions are used, which makes the proposed process energy-efficient. Additionally, two-stage ortho-to-para conversion makes the process compact. The proposed process is unique in terms of its configuration and mixed-refrigerant combination. The modified coordinate descent approach was adopted to identify the optimal design variables for the proposed H-2 liquefaction process. The proposed process consumes an energy of 6.45 kWh/kg(LH2), which is 36.5% and 16.1% lower than that consumed by the base design of the proposed process and a published base case, respectively. Additionally, the exergy efficiency of the proposed process is 47.2%. This study will help process engineers achieve a sustainable green economy by improving the competitiveness of H-2 storage and transportation over long distances

Investigating the Role of Antibiotics on Induction, Inhibition and Eradication of Biofilms of Poultry Associated Escherichia coli Isolated from Retail Chicken Meat

Background: Widespread use of antibiotics as growth promoters and prophylactic agents has dramatic consequences for the development of antibiotic resistance. In this study, we investigated effects of selected antibiotics on bacterial biofilms and performed extensive antibiotic and VF profiling of poultry-meat associated E. coli strains. Methods: Antibiotic susceptibility was performed by a disc diffusion method, followed by molecular screening of resistance and virulence determinants. Further biofilm formation assays, MIC-p, MIC-b, MBIC and MBEC, were performed using standard tissue culture plate method. Results: In total, 83 (75%) samples were confirmed as E. coli from poultry sources, 26 different antibiotics were tested, and maximum numbers of the isolates were resistant to lincomycin (100%), while the least resistance was seen against cefotaxime (1%) and polymyxin B (1%). Overall, 48% of the isolates were ESBL producers and 40% showed carbapenemase activity; important virulence genes were detected in following percentages: fimH32 (39%), papC21 (25%), iutA34 (41%), kpsMT-II23 (28%), papEF9 (11%), papGII22 (27%) and fyuA13 (16%). Colistin showed remarkable anti-biofilm activity, while at sub-MIC levels, gentamicin, ceftriaxone and enrofloxin significantly (p < 0.01) inhibited the biofilms. A strong induction of bacterial biofilm, after exposure to sub-minimal levels of colistin clearly indicates risk of bacterial overgrowth in a farm environment, while use of colistin aggravates the risk of emergence of colistin resistant Enterobacteriaceae, a highly undesirable public health scenario