Ethnomedicinal plants used against common digestive problems

Background: Ethnomedicinal knowledge is highly significant for persistence of human health care. Different studies have shown that medicinal plants are considered as curing agent for digestive disorders in Pakistan. The aim of present review is to explore this ethnomedicinal information all over the Pakistan and to investigate the ecological status of these species in the country.Methodology: Online literatures on ethnomedicinal plants used to treat digestive complaints in Pakistan were searched and gathered using online bibliographic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Flora of Pakistan.Results: The review documented 178 medicinal plant species, belonging to 59 families, used for different digestive ailments. The majority of species were herbs (60%), used in drug preparation. The most frequent part used in preparation of these remedies is leaves (23%), followed by roots (19%).Conclusion: In conclusion, the study provides enormous ethno-medicinal knowledge and due to the unsustainable activities of the people of Pakistan, some medicinal plants need to be conserved for the future.Key words: Ethno-medicine, medicinal plants, gastrointestinal diseases, ecological status

ESAT6-Induced IFNγ and CXCL9 Can Differentiate Severity of Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Protective responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis are dependent on appropriate T cell and macrophage activation. Mycobacterial antigen six kDa early secreted antigenic target (ESAT6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP10) can detect M. tuberculosis specific IFNgamma responses. However, most studies have been performed in non-endemic regions and to study pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). We have studied ESAT6 and CFP10 induced cytokine and chemokines responses in PTB and extrapulmonary (EPul) TB. METHODOLOGY: IFNgamma, IL10, CXCL9 and CCL2 responses were determined using an ex vivo whole blood assay system in PTB (n = 30) and EPulTB patients with limited (LNTB, n = 24) or severe (SevTB, n = 22) disease, and in healthy endemic controls (ECs). Responses to bacterial LPS were also determined. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: ESAT6- and CFP10-induced IFNgamma was comparable between ECs and TB patients. Both ESAT6- and CFP10-induced IFNgamma secretion was greater in LNTB than PTB. ESAT6-induced CXCL9 was greater in EPulTB as compared with PTB, with an increase in SevTB as compared with LNTB. CFP10-induced CCL2 was higher in PTB than LNTB patients. LPS-stimulated CXCL9 was greatest in SevTB and LPS-induced CCL2 was increased in PTB as compared with LNTB patients. A positive correlation between ESAT6-induced IFNgamma and CXCL9 was present in all TB patients, but IFNgamma and CCL2 was only correlated in LNTB. ESAT-induced CCL2 and CXCL9 were significantly associated in LNTB while correlation in response to LPS was only present in SevTB. CONCLUSIONS: ESAT6 induced IFNgamma and CXCL9 can differentiate between limited and severe TB infections

US Afghan Relations: A Historical Perspective of Events of 9/11

Before the World War II, the US policy was a compound of cooperation and isolation towards the world affairs and the US has no direct link in Southwest Asia and this area was under British influence. The main reason was lack of American commercial interests in Afghanistan and the role of Britain as guardian of Afghan foreign affairs, which obviated an early meaningful relationship between the two countries. So the history of US-Afghan relations is not very long and the efforts of the Afghan government for establishing relationship were not cherished up until 1934 and formal diplomatic relations were established in 1942. Afghanistan continued its traditional and preferred role as a buffer state, which prevented it from going into the orbit of any superpower or joining any military alliance. However, the Soviet influence increased and the Soviets provided military training and arms supply to Afghan army. The US adopted flexible approach in its relations with the Soviets, which resulted in increasing influence of communism and ultimately, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan on December 27, 1979, which totally altered the geo-strategic situation. Pakistan became a frontline state and the US made arrangements to supply military assistance to resistance groups without its direct involvement. In 1981, President Reagan took power with his tough anti-communist stance and made Moscow pay a high military and political price for the intervention in Afghanistan. The Soviet left Afghanistan after signing Geneva Accords in February 1989. In the absence of a central government, a civil war erupted which brought the Taliban in power. The paper will explore historical events which led to the events of 9/11 and war on terrorism in Afghanistan.&nbsp

Trends and Challenges in Pak-US Relations: Post September 11

The global changes have occurred throughout the 20th century and there is no reason to believe that they will slow down their pace in this millennium. The disintegration of the Soviet Union with its defeat in the Cold War and the terrorist attacks of September 11 have changed geopolitical environment and generated new forms of instability in the world and particularly in South Asia. These events also damaged those traditional international security arrangements that were evolved after the World War II. This paper will examine the major challenges and trends in Pakistan’s foreign policy after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 that caused major shift in the US policy towards the region and the issues pertaining to the US-led global war that has much significance for Pakistan.&nbsp

DEPRIVATION OF SNYDER’S COEFFICIENTS OF SYNTHETIC UNIT HYDROGRAPH FOR SMALL CATCHMENT OF N-W.F.P.

This Study presents a procedure of deriving coefficients of Snyder's synthetic unit hydrograph (UHG ) using rainfall and runoff data of NWFP. Nine catchment were selected for the study, six of which are located in Northern region while three are situated in Southern region of NWFP. For each catchment four reported storms were selected during 1970-1980. Basin lag (tpr) and peak discharge ( qpr ) were related to physical characteristics of the catchments ranging in area from 233 to 840 sq. miles and corresponding coefficients C ( for basin lag ) and Cp ( for peak discharge) were found. As a result of the present study it was observed that there is a considerable variation of these coefficients for Southern and Northern regions. C ranges from 0.30 to 0.75 for Northern and 0.91 to 1.5 for Southern regions. Similarly Cp ranges from 0.26 to 0.66 for Northern and 1.1 to 1.45 for Southern regions

Role of Islamic Credit Availability for Women Entrepreneurship Rural Areas of Punjab, Pakistan

The only religion that values women and recognizes their contributions to society is Islam. Given that they make up more than a quarter of the population, women are a vital and powerful force in the nation's development. Due to marketing and manufacturing limitations, women have unique challenges when running a business, including social and managerial concerns. This study was conducted to demonstrate the accessibility of Islamic loans to female business owners in Punjab, Pakistan. Out of the 36 districts that make up Punjab, two (Lahore and Faisalabad) were chosen for this study. Multistage sampling is not used to gather the data. 25 entrepreneurs were chosen randomly from the five villages chosen from each district, for a total sample size of 200. A well-structured interview was conducted to gather data on socioeconomic traits and the availability of Islamic loans. The data were analyzed using binary logistic regression after descriptive analysis. According to the statistics, 31% of women were single and 39% of women were married. In terms of experience, 40% of women had just begun their businesses, whereas 58% of women had experienced. Women were more likely than males to use Islamic credit, with 52% saying they would do so and 45% saying they would not. 61 percent of women agreed that problems arise from a lack of credit. They struggle with this issue alone

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in Renalase and KCNQ1 genes and female infertility: A cross-sectional study in Pakistan

A global increase in the incidence of subfertility is observed, and research suggests strong genetic influences that might restrict fertility directly or indirectly. It therefore becomes important to rule out the existence of genetic causes and counsel infertile couples before offering Advanced Infertility Treatment Techniques. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association of KCNQ1 (rs2237895) and Renalase (rs2576178 and rs10887800) single nucleotide polymorphisms with different causes of infertility by analysing 508 fertile and 164 infertile women. Gene variant (AC/CC) of KCNQ1 rs2237895 showed a slight difference in the endometriosis group compared to the fertile group (p = .049), with the C allele showing a significant association with infertility overall (OR = 1.42 [1.100-1.833]; p \u3c .0069). The variant AG/GG of Renalase rs2576178 was significantly associated with overall infertility (OR = 2.266; p \u3c .001), with a strong G allele association with unexplained infertility OR = 2.796 (p = .002) that remained significant after adjusting for age and body mass index. Similarly, Renalase rs10887800 AG/GG and G allele showed significant association with both infertility due to polycystic ovarian syndrome and unexplained infertility. Expression of single nucleotide polymorphism rs2237895 and rs2576178 in both KCNQ1 and Renalase genes might be responsible for altering reproductive potential, hence leading to infertility in women

Role of oxidative stress and altered thyroid hormones in unexplained infertility

Objective: To explore the link between altered thyroid profile and oxidative stress marker in females with unexplained infertility. Methods: The cross-sectional case-control study was carried out at the Islamabad Clinic Serving Infertile Couples, Islamabad, Pakistan, from June 2016 to August 2017, and comprised women aged 18-40 years regardless of ethnic background who were divided into two groups; those with unexplained infertility were the cases, while fertile women acted as the controls. Serum was analysed for triiodothyronine, thyroxine and thyroid stimulating hormone as well as for oxidative stress markers including manganese superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase and adrenaline using enzymelinked immunosorbent assay. Data was analysed using SPSS 19. Results: Of the 88 subjects, there were 44(50%) in each of the two groups. There was no significant difference in terms of thyroids markers except thyroxine and thyroid stimulating hormone (p0.05). Conclusions: Increased thyroxine levels in females with unexplained infertility was associated with decrease in the serum levels of antioxidants