Screening Antibacterial Activity of Vinegar & Olive Oil on Enteric Bacteria

Food-borne infection is the health problem related to food borne diseases. The majority of reported food-borne disease outbreak was caused by pathogenic bacteria. The important handling & uncooked or raw foods are risk of contamination which is unfit for human consumption & leads to food-borne infection. In the present study, the antimicrobial activity of olive oil & vinegar has been suggested that both the natural preservatives were effective & shown effective bacterial reduction & used as an inhibitors of food-borne pathogens. In this study we screened the chicken meat samples. The isolated micro-organisms were E. coli, Klebsiella, Salmonella & Shigella. Further antimicrobial activity of olive oil & vinegar were screened against these micro-organisms from our findings, it’s suggested that both the natural preservatives were effective & shown effective bacterial reduction & used as a inhibitors of food-borne pathogens. The growth of bacterial isolates was inhibited by vinegar. The vinegar & olive oil both exhibited a broad range of antimicrobial activity tested by agar-well diffusion methods & zone of inhibitions (mm) were then measured. Antibiotics sensitivity test against these microbial isolates compared with Gentamicin, Nalidixic acid & Chloramphenicol. These compounds therefore possess potential to be used as food bio-preservatives

Microdiscectomy in Relieving Neurological Symptoms in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation

Introduction: Minimally invasive spine surgical approaches such as microdiscectomy have gained attention in recent years due to less tissue damage, speedy and acceptable neurological improvement with less complication.Objective: To assess efficacy of microdiscectomy in improving neurological status in patients with lumbar disc herniation.Material and Methods: A Quasi experimental study comprising 70 consecutive cases though non-probability purposive sampling technique of both the sexes admitted in Neurosurgery department, Mayo Hospital operated for the 1st time for any disc pathology with no other spinal lesions giving consent themselves or though legal guardians was conducted. Pain for leg and back was measured pre and post-operatively was done by VAS which had 42 days of follow up. Standard Neurological examinations were conducted pertaining to muscle power (by MRC), sensory status and SLR test pre and post-operatively. Variables according to their nature were expressed in the form of Mean ± SD, Median (Range) and Frequency (percentage). Mc Neumer’s chi square test and paired t test were used to see association between pre-operative and post-operative Neurological status (MRC grade, sensory status, SLR) depending on their nature viz: qualitative or quantitative respectively in SPSS version 15 and hence efficacy of microdiscectomy was assessed.Results: Out of 70 patients 74% were male and 26% were females. Mean ± SD of patients was 37.6 ± 13.0 years. Majority were Laborers after housewives. Illiterates, Poor lifting techniques were the most common characteri-stics in the respective headings of education and employment. Most common level of disc herniation was L4-L5, L5-S1 level (96%) where Prolapse and extrusion were most common MRI findings. As compared to pre-operative (3.4) muscle power 1st and 42nd day power were respectively 4.0 and 4.7 (p = 0.001). Pre-operatively only 32 (45.7%) had normal sensation which improved to 38 (54.3%) and 51 (72.9%) respectively in 1st and 42nd day of surgery (p = 0.001). Pre-operative mean SLR improved to 98.6 degrees in 1st POD and continued to be the same till 42nd day (p = 0.001). All the MRC findings, sensory status and SLR values in each post-operative days were statistically significant with the baseline by paired t test (p = 0.001).Conclusion: Microdiscectomy is one of the effective procedures which can be adopted for symptomatic unilateral lumber disc herniation with significant improvement in Neurological statuses

Roles of Sociodemographic Characteristics in Determining Neurological Outcomes in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation after Microdiscectomy

Introduction: Socio-demographic characteristics like age, gender, occupation has important role in causation of lumbar disc herniation which may even affect their recovery after the surgery. We want to explore the difference in improvement in Neurological status in terms of difference in socio-demographic characteristics of patients.Objective: To find variation in improvement in Neurological status in post microdiscectomy lumbar disc herniation patient stratified in terms of socio-demographic characteristics.Material and Methods: A Quasi experimental study comprising 70 consecutive cases though non-probability purposive sampling technique of both the sexes admitted in Neurosurgery department, Mayo Hospital operated for the 1st time for any disc pathology with no other spinal lesions giving consent themselves or though legal guardians was conducted. Pain for leg and back was measured pre and post-operatively was done by VAS which had 42 days of follow up. Standard Neurological examinations were conducted pertaining to muscle power (by MRC), sensory status and SLR test pre and post-operatively. Variables according to their nature were expressed in the form of Mean ± SD, Median (Range) and Frequency (percentage). Comparisons between categorical and continuous variables were done with the help of t test and one way ANOVA and comparison between both categorical variables was done with the help of chi square test in SPSS version 15.Results: Out of 70 patients 74% were male and 26% were females. Mean ± SD of patients was 37.6 ± 13.0 years. Majority were Laborers after housewives. Illiterates, Poor lifting techniques were the most common charac-teristics in the respective headings of education and employment. Most common level of disc herniation was L4-L5, L5-S1 level (96%) where Prolapse and extrusion were most common MRI findings. Improvement in motor power, sensory status was not dependent on any of socio-demographic characteristics. Improvement on SLR was associated with male genders on 1st (p = 0.03) as well as 7th, 21st and 42nd PODs (p = 0.001).Conclusion: Except gender in SLR value improvement, no other socio-demographic characteristics alter the improvement status in LDH patient after microdiscectomy

The association between parity, infant gender, higher level of paternal education and preterm birth in Pakistan: a cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High rates of antenatal depression and preterm birth have been reported in Pakistan. Self reported maternal stress and depression have been associated with preterm birth; however findings are inconsistent. Cortisol is a biological marker of stress and depression, and its measurement may assist in understanding the influence of self reported maternal stress and depression on preterm birth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a prospective cohort study pregnant women between 28 to 30 weeks of gestation from the Aga Khan Hospital for Women and Children completed the A-Z Stress Scale and the Centre for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale to assess stress and depression respectively, and had a blood cortisol level drawn. Women were followed up after delivery to determine birth outcomes. Correlation coefficients and Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess relationship between preterm birth, stress, depression and cortisol. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the key factors predictive of preterm birth.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>132 pregnant women participated of whom 125 pregnant women had both questionnaire and cortisol level data and an additional seven had questionnaire data only. Almost 20% of pregnant women (19·7%, 95% CI 13·3-27·5) experienced a high level of stress and nearly twice as many (40·9%, 95% CI 32·4-49·8%) experienced depressive symptoms. The median of cortisol level was 27·40 ug/dl (IQR 22·5-34·2). The preterm birth rate was 11·4% (95% CI 6·5-18). There was no relationship between cortisol values and stress scale or depression. There was a significant positive relationship between maternal depression and stress. Preterm birth was associated with higher parity, past delivery of a male infant, and higher levels of paternal education. Insufficient numbers of preterm births were available to warrant the development of a multivariable logistic regression model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Preterm birth was associated with higher parity, past delivery of a male infant, and higher levels of paternal education. There was no relationship between stress, and depression, cortisol and preterm birth. There were high rates of stress and depression among this sample suggesting that there are missed opportunities to address mental health needs in the prenatal period. Improved methods of measurement are required to better understand the psychobiological basis of preterm birth.</p

Frequency of Incidental Carcinoma in Thyroids Operated for Multinodular Goiter

Background: Multinodular goiter (MNG) is a common disease in Pakistan. However, malignancy can be found occasionally on histopathological examination of resected goiter specimens. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of malignant lesions on histopathological examination in thyroid specimens operated for multinodular goiter.Material and Methods: A total of 154 patients undergoing thyroid surgery with preoperative diagnosis of multinodular goiter (MNG) at Al Nafees Medical College and Hospital Islamabad, Pakistan were included in this study. The preoperative diagnosis of MNG was made upon physical examination of thyroid and ultrasound (n=62 cases) and FNAC (n=43 cases) was done in selected cases. Gross examination was done and sections were taken from areas of thyroid with varied appearances including hemorrhagic, solid, firm, white, gray, gelatinous as well as necrotic areas. Qualitative variables, were calculated in terms of percentages and mean and standard deviation were used for quantitative variables.Results: Of the 154 patients with preoperative diagnosis of MNG, there were 139 (90%) female and only 15 (10%) male patients. The age range was 14-60 years with a mean age of 36 ± 10 years The incidence of thyroid carcinoma in patients operated for clinical diagnosis of MNG was 8% (n=12). Papillary thyroid carcinoma was the most frequent type of malignancy (83.3%; n=10). Multifocality (60%; n=6), bilaterality (33.3%; n=4) and left lobe involvement (80%; n=8) of thyroid were more common. Microcarcinoma (measuring 1cm or less) was found in 50% (n=5) of these PTC. Histological type of papillary carcinomas greater than 1 cm were follicular variant (n=3; 30%) and conventional (n=2; 20%) types. The maximum measurement of the tumor was 2 cm. In all cases of PTC, rest of the thyroid showed MNG on histopathology.Conclusions: Incidental finding of thyroid malignancy in clinically diagnosed cases of MNG is not unusual. Papillary carcinoma of thyroid is the most common incidental malignant finding in these cases. Multilocularity in thyroid is not an indicator of benign disease process

Steady-state investigation of carbon-based adsorbent-adsorbate pairs for heat transformation application

In this study, the ideal adsorption cycle behavior of eight activated carbon and refrigerant pairs is evaluated. The selected pairs are KOH6-PR/ethanol, WPT-AC/ethanol, Maxsorb-III/methanol, Maxsorb-III/CO2, Maxsorb-III/n-butane, Maxsorb-III/R-134a, SAC-2/R32 and Maxsorb-III/R507a. The following cooling performance parameters are evaluated for all pairs: specific cooling energy (SCE), concentration difference (&Delta;W) and coefficient of performance (COP) of ideal adsorption cooling and refrigeration cycles. The evaporator temperatures for the applications of adsorption cooling and refrigeration are selected as 7 and &minus;5 &deg;C, respectively. It is found that the Maxsorb-III/methanol pair has shown the highest specific cooling energy and coefficient of performance in a wide range of desorption temperatures; i.e., for the adsorption cooling cycle it has SCE and COP of 639.83 kJ/kg and 0.803, respectively, with desorption temperatures of 80 &deg;C. The KOH6-PR/ethanol and the WPT-AC/ethanol pairs also give good performances comparable to that of the Maxsorb-III/methanol pair. However, the SAC-2/R32 pair possesses a higher concentration difference than the Maxsorb-III/methanol, KOH6-PR/ethanol and WPT-AC/ethanol pairs but shows a lower performance. This is due to the lower isosteric heat of adsorption of SAC-2/R32 compared to these pairs. It is found that Maxsorb-III/methanol, KOH6-PR/ethanol and WPT-AC/ethanol are the most promising pairs for application in designing adsorption cooling and refrigeration systems.In this study, the ideal adsorption cycle behavior of eight activated carbon and refrigerant pairs is evaluated. The selected pairs are KOH6-PR/ethanol, WPT-AC/ethanol, Maxsorb-III/methanol, Maxsorb-III/CO2, Maxsorb-III/n-butane, Maxsorb-III/R-134a, SAC-2/R32 and Maxsorb-III/R507a. The following cooling performance parameters are evaluated for all pairs: specific cooling energy (SCE), concentration difference (ΔW) and coefficient of performance (COP) of ideal adsorption cooling and refrigeration cycles. The evaporator temperatures for the applications of adsorption cooling and refrigeration are selected as 7 and −5 °C, respectively. It is found that the Maxsorb-III/methanol pair has shown the highest specific cooling energy and coefficient of performance in a wide range of desorption temperatures; i.e., for the adsorption cooling cycle it has SCE and COP of 639.83 kJ/kg and 0.803, respectively, with desorption temperatures of 80 °C. The KOH6-PR/ethanol and the WPT-AC/ethanol pairs also give good performances comparable to that of the Maxsorb-III/methanol pair. However, the SAC-2/R32 pair possesses a higher concentration difference than the Maxsorb-III/methanol, KOH6-PR/ethanol and WPT-AC/ethanol pairs but shows a lower performance. This is due to the lower isosteric heat of adsorption of SAC-2/R32 compared to these pairs. It is found that Maxsorb-III/methanol, KOH6-PR/ethanol and WPT-AC/ethanol are the most promising pairs for application in designing adsorption cooling and refrigeration systems.King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabi

Effect of foliar application of Fe and banana peel waste biochar on growth, chlorophyll content and accessory pigments synthesis in spinach under chromium (IV) toxicity

Chromium (Cr) toxicity is becoming one of a major issue for the cultivation of crops. Toxicity of Cr directly affects synthesis of chlorophyll and restricts Fe intake, which decreases crop growth. It is well documented that the reduction of Cr toxicity through the application of biochar. However, current experiment was carried out to investigate any positive effect of, banana peel waste biochar (BC) and foliar application of Fe (FFe) on growth and chlorophyll content of Spinacia oleracea L. under different levels of Cr toxicity. Seeds of Spinacia oleracea L. were grown under three levels of Cr i.e. control (Cr0), Cr35 (35 mg Cr kg−1 soil) and Cr70 (70 mg Cr kg-1 soil). Analyzed data confirmed that Spinacia oleracea L. seeds grown in 1% BC amended soils and 1000mM FFe, showed significantly better growth, Fe uptake and chlorophyll content as compared to control at Cr35 and Cr70. A significant improvement in shoot length (16.9 and 26.9%), root length (16.3 and 20.9%), plant fresh (15.5 and 28.3%) and dry weight (70.3 and 77.8%) as compared to control under Cr35 and Cr70, respectively, validated the efficacious functioning of 1% BC and FFe to mitigate Cr toxicity in Spinacia oleracea L. It is concluded that both 1% banana peel waste BC and 1000mM FFe have potential but sole application of FFe is more effective to alleviate Cr toxicity in Spinacia oleracea L. Fortification of Fe by foliar application is more effective comparative to banana peel waste biochar for improvement in growth, chlorophyll content and accessory pigments synthesis in spinach under chromium (IV) toxicity

Unveiling the Genetic Tapestry: Exploring <i>Rhizoctonia solani</i> AG-3 Anastomosis Groups in Potato Crops across Borders

The current study was carried out to screen 10 isolates (ARS-01–ARS-10) of Rhizoctonia. solani from potato tubers cv. Kuroda, which were collected from various potato fields in Multan, Pakistan. The isolates were found to be morphologically identical, as the hyphae exhibit the production of branches at right angles and acute angles often accompanied by septum near the emerging branches. Anastomosis grouping showed that these isolates belonged to AG-3. A pathogenicity test was performed against the susceptible Kuroda variety and among the isolates, ARS-05 exhibited the highest mean severity score of approximately 5.43, followed by ARS-09, which showed a mean severity score of about 3.67, indicating a moderate level of severity. On the lower end of the severity scale, isolates ARS-06 and ARS-07 displayed mean severity scores of approximately 0.53 and 0.57, respectively, suggesting minimal symptom severity. These mean severity scores offer insights into the varying degrees of symptom expression among the different isolates of R. solani under examination. PCoA indicates that the severe isolate causing black scurf on the Kuroda variety was AG-3. A comprehensive analysis of the distribution, genetic variability, and phylogenetic relationships of R. solani anastomosis groups (AGs) related to potato crops across diverse geographic regions was also performed to examine AG prevalence in various countries. AG-3 was identified as the most widespread group, prevalent in Sweden, China, and the USA. AG-5 showed prominence in Sweden and the USA, while AG-2-1 exhibited prevalence in China and Japan. The phylogenetic analysis unveiled two different clades: Clade I comprising AG-3 and Clade II encompassing AG-2, AG-4, and AG-5, further subdivided into three subclades. Although AGs clustered together regardless of origin, their genetic diversity revealed complex evolutionary patterns. The findings pave the way for region-specific disease management strategies to combat R. solani’s impact on potato crops

Lichens as spatially transferable bioindicators for monitoring nitrogen pollution

Excess nitrogen is a pollutant and global problem that harms ecosystems and can severely affect human health. Pollutant nitrogen is becoming more widespread and intensifying in the tropics. There is thus a requirement to develop nitrogen biomonitoring for spatial mapping and trend analysis of tropical biodiversity and ecosystems. In temperate and boreal zones, multiple bioindicators for nitrogen pollution have been developed, with lichen epiphytes among the most sensitive and widely applied. However, the state of our current knowledge on bioindicators is geographically biased, with extensive research effort focused on bioindicators in the temperate and boreal zones. The development of lichen bioindicators in the tropics is further weakened by incomplete taxonomic and ecological knowledge. In this study we performed a literature review and meta-analysis, attempting to identify characteristics of lichens that offer transferability of bioindication into tropical regions. This transferability must overcome the different species pools between source information – drawing on extensive research effort in the temperate and boreal zone – and tropical ecosystems. Focussing on ammonia concentration as the nitrogen pollutant, we identify a set of morphological traits and taxonomic relationships that cause lichen epiphytes to be more sensitive, or more resistant to this excess nitrogen. We perform an independent test of our bioindicator scheme and offer recommendations for its application and future research in the tropics