Effect of natural and synthetic fruit coatings on the postharvest quality of kinnow mandarins

Natural products are more preferred by consumers now-a-days over the synthetic ones. Therefore a natural fruit coating was developed from natural ingredients (shellac, rosin, gum arabic, water and ethanol from sugar industry) without ammonia or morpholine as an alternative to the synthetic coatings. So this research was devised to compare the effects of this newly developed natural fruit coating (with 9% total solids) with those of synthetic one (polyethylene based ammonia containing wax with 21% total solids) on the postharvest quality of kinnow (Citrus reticulata Blanco) mandarins. The kinnow mandarins were either coated with natural or synthetic fruit coatings or were left uncoated and stored at 5±2°C with 85-90% relative humidity for 63 days with five replications for each treatment. The results showed that both fruit coatings significantly (p0.05) changes in total soluble solids and fruit acidity were recorded for all the treatments. Furthermore the difference between natural and synthetic fruit coatings was non-significant (p>0.05). Therefore, it could be suggested that the natural fruit coating is a good alternative of the synthetic fruit coating

Assessment of potential drug–drug interactions and its associated factors in the hospitalized cardiac patients

AbstractDrug–drug interactions (DDIs) may result in the alteration of therapeutic response. Sometimes they may increase the untoward effects of many drugs. Hospitalized cardiac patients need more attention regarding drug–drug interactions due to complexity of their disease and therapeutic regimen. This research was performed to find out types, prevalence and association between various predictors of potential drug–drug interactions (pDDIs) in the Department of Cardiology and to report common interactions. This study was performed in the hospitalized cardiac patients at Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad, Pakistan. Patient charts of 2342 patients were assessed for pDDIs using Micromedex® Drug Information. Logistic regression was applied to find predictors of pDDIs. The main outcome measure in the study was the association of the potential drug–drug interactions with various factors such as age, gender, polypharmacy, and hospital stay of the patients. We identified 53 interacting-combinations that were present in total 5109 pDDIs with median number of 02 pDDIs per patient. Overall, 91.6% patients had at least one pDDI; 86.3% were having at least one major pDDI, and 84.5% patients had at least one moderate pDDI. Among 5109 identified pDDIs, most were of moderate (55%) or major severity (45%); established (24.2%), theoretical (18.8%) or probable (57%) type of scientific evidence. Top 10 common pDDIs included 3 major and 7 moderate interactions. Results obtained by multivariate logistic regression revealed a significant association of the occurrence of pDDIs in patient with age of 60years or more (p<0.001), hospital stay of 7days or longer (p<0.001) and taking 7 or more drugs (p<0.001). We found a high prevalence for pDDIs in the Department of Cardiology, most of which were of moderate severity. Older patients, patients with longer hospital stay and with elevated number of prescribed drugs were at higher risk of pDDIs

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension; three case reports with similar clinical manifestations, treated successfully using different management techniques.

Spontaneous Intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a rare neurological disorder, characterized by orthostatic headaches. Due to the complicity of its diagnosis and lack of awareness amongst physicians, SIH remains an under-diagnosed disease and its true prevalence remains unknown. It is a reversible condition, if diagnosed early. Delay in diagnosis can result in life threatening complications.Case Reports:We present a case series of three patients who presented with typical symptoms of SIH. But management course of each patient varied. The first patient responded well to the EBP (epidural blood patch) while the second improved with conventional symptomatic treatment. The third patient needed a surgical intervention for complication developed due to SIH. This case series hence covers a variety of treatment options for patients with SIH.Conclusion:SIH is an emerging challenge for neurologists worldwide. Awareness amongst physicians regarding this disease along with a high level of suspicion and good history skills will allow early diagnosis of the disease and prevent delay in treatment and hence complications

An Assessment of Public Opinion in Balochistan about Federal Form of Government in Pakistan

Almost every state or society particularly a pluralistic one is composed of various nationalities or sub-national groups whereas every segment has its own distinct identity being a source of pride and strength for its survival. In relatively homogenous societies, the process of nation-building though not easy is at least less cumbersome whereas in pluralistic societies this process demands a lot of hard work on the part of the elite who must exhibit vision, wisdom, foresight and patience; because such societies are always fraught with the danger that any of the nationalities or sub-national group may dominate the others. The societies having a considerable level of social, cultural and linguistic heterogeneity hence horizontally/vertically divided and cross-divided in the pursuit of their distinct preferences and priorities can hardly be united under a single administrative structure nevertheless they can be persuaded to form a union under some common government.&nbsp; For this purpose, a federal arrangement may be suitable option because it provides for unity in diversity rather than unity in its absolute terms. The federation of Pakistan, since its vey inception, is struggling to create the said unity particularly with reference to the situation in Balochistan which is facing a long and multi-faceted unrest posing a substantial challenge for the federation. The present study empirically explores the nature of grievances of the people of Balochistan with respect to the federation of Pakistan by conducting a field survey and establishes that majority of the people of Balochistan do not believe that the federal design in Pakistan is functioning in its true letter and spirit with reference to Balochistan

Analysis of morphological traits in different host plants associated with resistance to Phenacoccus solenopsis- an invasive pest in Pakistan

Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera) is a sucking insect pest and is polyphagous in nature. Twenty five (25) different host plants were screened against P. solenopsis and their  physicomorphic traits were determined to correlate their role against pest population. Among the tested plant species, most favorable host plants of mealy bug on the basis of population were Gossypium hirsutum (69.74±10.5), Solamum melongena (62.41±10.0), Helianthus annuus (61.83±10.0), Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (61.1±10.0) and Lantana camara (55.83±9.75), but the least preferred plants were tandla Digera arvensis (1.57±1.00) and Conyza bonariensis (3.83±1.75). Significant variations were observed in all the morphological plant characters recorded from different plant species. The maximum leaf thickness per plant was 2.04±0.23 ìm in plant species S. melongena while minimum thickness of leaf was recorded from lehli (0.25±0.02 ìm). Maximum trichome density per plant was 444±72.4 in sunflower followed by 411.6±19.6, 399±52, 391.6±22.0, in C. bonariensis, Abelmoschus esculentus and Withania somnifera respectively but minimum were 2.33±1.45 in Chinopodium morale, followed by 2.66±1.4, and 3±2.08 in Portulaca oleracea and Trianthema portulacastrum respectively. The maximum hair length per plant (2.62±0.07 mm) was of sunflower followed by 2.55±0.03 mm in okra, 2.53±0.06 mm in both S. melongena and G. hirsutum. It was concluded that plant characters including trichome density and hair length favor mealy bug population showing r-values of 0.357* and 0.190 respectively but leaf size and leaf width (leaf area and leaf thickness) exerted negative effect on pest population showing r-values of -0.172 and -0.285 respectively.Key words: Phenacoccus solenopsis, invasive species, physicomorphic traits, resistance

Frequency of etiologies of acute kidney injury in Faisalabad and surrounding districts

Background: To find out the causes of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) in population.Methods: A total of 150 patients were enrolled from medical, surgical, gynecology and obstetrics units of Allied Hospital and Madinah Teaching Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan. History, physical examination and investigations were recorded on specially designed proforma. Patients were evaluated to find out the etiologies of AKI. All patients were subjected to urine analysis, complete blood count, blood biochemistry (urea, creatinine, electrolytes, uric acid, calcium and phosphorus) and ultrasound scan of the abdomen and pelvis. Renal biopsy, immunological assays, such as hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-hepatitis C virus antibody, complements level, antinuclear antibody, anti-double-stranded DNA, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody and anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody were performed in selected cases.Results: Male (36%) and female (64%). Pre-renal AKI was most common and was reported in 80 patients (53.33%). Intrinsic Renal azotemia in 56 patients (37.33%). Post renal azotemia in 14 patients (9.33%). Among 80 patients of prerenal AKI, hemorrhage in 45(56.25%), gastroenteritis in 16(20%), sepsis in 8(10%), cardiac diseases in 4(5%), hepatorenal syndrome in 3 (3.75%), peritonitis in 2 (2.50%) and burns in 2(2.50%) were the main causes of Pre-renal AKI. Among 56 patients of intrinsic renal AKI, 40(71.4%) had acute tubular necrosis (ATN), 12(21.4%) with multifactorial causes and 4(7.14%) were found to have glomerulonephritis. Among 14 patients of post renal AKI, 6(42.9%) were having calculi, 6(42.9%) were to have enlarged prostate and 2(4.3%) were having stricture urethra. In this study, contribution of obstetrical, medical and surgical etiologies were recorded as 40%, 36% and 20% respectively.Conclusions: In contrast to study reported from neighbouring country, this study shows rather increase in pregnancy related AKI

Bifunctional Heterogeneous Catalysts for Biodiesel Production using Low Cost Feedstocks: A Future Perspective

Currently, the fossil fuel sources are the major contributors to the world\u27s energy mix. However, these conventional energy sources are depleting very fast due to their finite nature and extensive uses. An addition to their finite nature, environmental problems related to their uses are getting progressively worse and worse, initiating challenging debates for scientific communities. Biodiesel, a renewable fuel, has shown promising prospects due to its strong socioeconomic benefits and motivations in most of the countries of the world. Bifunctional heterogeneous catalysts are strongly recommended for biodiesel production from different feedstocks to simplify the process. This review highlights the challenges and opportunities associated with the heterogeneous catalysts and some recommendations to design an efficient bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst for economical biodiesel production from waste cooking oil

Impact of Oppressors on Truthfulness: A Case Study on University of Karachi – Students (Under-Graduate & Graduate)

Under this truth model and research study, the truth is defined as a central fold, which is communicated of its surroundings. Truth is always there available to every person for being revealed but each type of personality is distracted, distressed, dominated or oppressed with an oppressor who is a hurdle in prevalence of truth to each personality. It might be a voice, noise, a physical barrier or distortion etc..The communication type between each and every elements of the model is extra personal in nature. The truth to any one type whether, through direct or indirect interaction. Therefore, the model responds for two-way communication process where, each entity or element act as sender and as well as receiver in the same discipline.The model and research study will further help in finding the core hypothesis i.e. to calculate when the ability of truthfulness in under-graduate, post-graduate and graduate standard students come into existence when dealing with various oppressive conditions and policies i.e. being unaware with the truth, and reacted when dealt with the situation of known about the truth, furthermore; what sources are acquired for prevalence of truth. Secondly, the inheritance element in the process of discovering truth from ancestral roots and the frequency of parent child interaction in investigating of disturbing conditions and matter. How both the ends respond i.e. positively or negatively? The truth model will also be assisting in understanding the scenarios of untruthfulness (social interaction) when opposite reactions insist students to act differently to prescribed criteria and standards. Various studies show that untruthfulness occur due to in hunger and starvation. Further, truthfulness is the adverse situation in anger or aggression (need to be checked). Some other factors such as social disorder, neglected by superior authorities (teachers or maestros) also result in provoking truthfulness in the students. The model will be quite helpful in checking of such disorders of truthfulness. Keywords: Two-way Communication process, Disorders of truthfulness, Hunger and Starvation DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-6-14 Publication date:March 31st 201

Jaceosidin Induces Apoptosis in U87 Glioblastoma Cells through G2/M Phase Arrest

Artemisia argyi is a widely used medicinal plant in China. The present study was designed to identify the bioactive constituents with antiglioma activity from leaves of Artemesia argyi. A bioactivity guided approach based on MTT assay for cells growth inhibition led to the isolation of a flavonoid, “jaceosidin” from ethanol extract of leaves of Artemesia argyi. The growth inhibitory effect of jaceosidin was explored using flow cytometry and Western blot studies. Our results showed that jaceosidin exerts growth inhibitory effect by arresting the cells at G2/M phase and induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, our study revealed that induction of apoptosis was associated with cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase, upregulation of p53 and Bax, decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c, and activation of caspase 3. This mitochondrial-caspase-3-dependent apoptosis pathway was confirmed by pretreatment with caspase 3 inhibitor, Ac-DEVD-CHO. Our findings suggested that jaceosidin induces mitochondrial-caspase-3-dependent apoptosis in U87 cells by arresting the cell cycle at G2/M phase