Comparison of Outcomes of Topical Anesthesia with Peribulbar Anesthesia in Vitrectomy for Unresolving Vitreous Hemorrhage

OBJECTIVES: To compare the Surgeon's ease level and duration of surgery in topical anesthesia with peribulbar anesthesia for vitrectomy without sedation in patients with unresolving vitreous hemorrhage of duration greater than 3 months. METHODOLOGY: A randomized controlled trial was carried out at the Department of Ophthalmology, Lahore General Hospital, Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore from October 2017 to September 2018. A total of 110 patients were equally divided (n=55) in group A (topical anesthesia) and group B (peribulbar anesthesia) by lottery method. In group A, 0.5% proparacaine hydrochloride eye drops were instilled into the conjunctival sac every 3 minutes preoperatively 5 times before surgery. For group B patients, 5cc injection consisting of 2.5ml of 0.5% bupivacaine and 2.5ml of 1% lidocaine was injected thirty minutes before surgery. Surgical time was noted from first incision to enter the eye for vitrectomy till application of last closing suture. Surgeon ease was recorded with a 4 Grade scale. All data was recorded, entered, and analyzed by SPSS version 25.0. Continuous variables were presented as mean, standard deviation and independent t-test was applied. RESULTS:  The mean age of the patient was 43.83±9.76 years. Male cases were 78 (70.9%) and female cases were 32 (29.1%). Mean duration of surgery was 30.32±7.07 minutes and the surgeon’s ease was 2.30±0.98. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) with respect to mean duration of surgery and surgeon’s ease level in patients who were given topical anesthesia (28.12±6.57 minutes and 3.11±0.90) versus peribulbar anesthesia (32.52±6.92 minutes and 2.67±0.90). CONCLUSION: Topical anesthesia without sedation is better than peribulbar anesthesia for vitrectomy without sedation in patients with unresolving vitreous hemorrhage of duration greater than 3 months

Isolation and culture of dental pulp stem cells from permanent and deciduous teeth

OBJECTIVE: To isolate dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from non-infected human permanent and deciduous teeth. METHODS: It was an in-vitro experimental study. Human teeth were collected from 13 apparently healthy subjects including nine adults and four children. After decoronation dental pulps were extirpated from teeth and cultured via explant method in a stem cell defined media. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics. RESULTS: As above MSCs emerged exhibiting fibroblast-like morphology. In vitro culture was positive for 100% (9/9) and 75% (3/4) of the permanent and deciduous teeth respectively. First cell appeared from deciduous teeth pulp in 10±6.2 days while permanent teeth pulp took 12.4±3.7 days. Together, 26.6±3.6 and 24.5±3.5 days were required for permanent and deciduous tooth pulp stem cells to be ready for further assays. CONCLUSIONS: The protocol we developed is easy and consistent and can be used to generate reliable source of MScs for engineering of calcified and non-calcified tissue for regenerative medicine approaches.

Kinetics and mechanisms of oxidation of d-fructose and d-lactose by permanganate ion in an acidic medium

ABSTRACT . Hg was used to accelerate the slow oxidation of lactose. Effect of varying salt electrolyte concentration was insignificant showing that the molecular species was involved in the rate determining step. Formic and arabinonic acids and respective acids were analyzed through spot and spectroscopic studies respectively. Reaction was monitored at different temperatures and thermodynamics activation parameters were determined. A mechanism consistent with kinetic studies, spectral evidences, stoichiometry of the reactions and product analysis has been proposed for the oxidation of fructose and lactose in absence and presence of catalyst respectively

Cross-sectional study of mammographic breast density of Pakistani women and its association with breast cancer

Objectives: To explore if a positive association existed between breast cancer and increased breast density. Method: The retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad and comprised data from July 10, 2018, to July 10, 2020, of all patients who underwent mammography for screening or diagnostic purposes. Data was collected by reviewing patients’ charts, and was divided into diagnostic group A and screening group B according to mammography target. Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System category was also noted. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Results: Of the 1,035 women with mean age 46.8±2.5 years (range: 35-82 years), 928(89.7%) were in group A and 107((10.3%) were in group B Prevalent breast densities overall were category A 67(6.3%), B 349(33.7%), C 530(51.2%) and D 89(8.5%). In group A, a lump was detected in 542(58.4%) patients. Of them, 367(67.7%) lesions were malignant and 175(32.3%) were benign. Breast density and malignant tumours had significant association (p<0.05). Conclusion: Mammographic breast density wsa found to have a significant association with breast cancer. Key Words: Breast density, Bcancer, BIRADS, Malignant, Mammography

Influence of wastewater irrigation on soil chemical properties and buildup of heavy metals in soil

The contamination of soil and plants by heavy metals is one of the crucial issues to be faced in the world including Pakistan and requires attention because heavy metals above their normal ranges are highly threatened to both plants and animals. To monitor this situation, a survey study was conducted to diagnose the concentration of toxic metals and other chemical properties of wastewater irrigated soils. For this purpose, soil samples were collected from various districts of Punjab, Pakistan and analyzed for heavy metals (cadmium, lead, chromium, nickel) and chemical properties such as electric conductivity, pH, organic matter and macronutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and Sodium contents). Result showed that pH of wastewater irrigated surface soil was alkaline in nature. Results also revealed that use of wastewater irrigation improved the O.M content (upto 2%) in soils. Macronutrient dynamics also increased specially build up in total N up to 0.12%, Olsen P (45 mg kg-1), Extractable K and Na (608, 1525 mg kg-1 respectively) was also observed in soils of wastewater irrigated areas. Furthermore, results also indicated that the concentration of heavy metal, cadmium was ranged from 0.004-3.44 mg kg-1, lead 0.05-279.3 mg kg-1, chromium 0.004-683 mg kg-1 and nickel 0.01-221.7 mg kg-1 in wastewater irrigated areas of Punjab. It was observed that, 28, 19, 15 and 5% samples were found above the permissible limits (35, 100, 0.8 and 85 mg kg-1) of Ni, Cr, Cd and Pb, respectively. Based on the results, the order of heavy metal contamination in the wastewater irrigated soil of Punjab occurred as Ni&gt;Cr&gt;Cd&gt;Pb. This study concluded that untreated wastewater affect chemical properties of soil as well as degrades soil quality and at the same time it’s continues use ultimately responsible for buildup of heavy metals in soils.    

Three-dimensional aerogel based on in-situ growth of 1T-MoS2 on functionalized hierarchical porous carbon/reduced graphene oxide for energy storage

2019 Elsevier B.V. Three-dimensional (3D) aerogels based on in-situ growth of tetragonal molybdenum disulfide (1T-MoS2) on hydrothermally acid-treated porous carbon (HAPC) derived from sugarcane bagasse and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites were hydrothermally synthesized. The resultant composites, HAPC/MoS2/rGO (1:2:0.5) and HAPC/MoS2/rGO (1:1:0.5) were evaluated as an anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and as a supercapacitor, respectively. This HAPC/MoS2/rGO (1:2:0.5) composite delivers a high reversible discharge capacity of 952 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.2 A g−1 and outstanding high-rate capability as an anode for LIBs. While another composite HAPC/MoS2/rGO (1:1:0.5) reveals the best performance as a supercapacitor by delivering a specific capacitance of 385 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. Such an excellent and stable performance of the composites in energy storage can be ascribed as the synergistic effect of three-dimensional aerogel consisting of 1T-MoS2 nanosheets, graphene sheets, and porous carbon. The 1T-MoS2 layered structured nanosheets are tightly lying on the surface of HAPC, making their strong contact with each other and therefore reducing the diffusion path for both electrons and lithium ions. While the electrical conductivity of the composite system is enhanced by the graphene sheets

Nitrate pollution of ground water and impacts of nitrogenous fertilizers and irrigation on dynamics of NO3-N movement in soils of Punjab, Pakistan

Increase in N application rates may eventually raise the potential groundwater N-pollution. This survey study was conducted by Soil Chemistry Section, ISCES to assess the NO3 contents of soil from 0 to 120 cm depth with different intervals. For this purpose, the soil and water samples were collected from Okara, Vehari Sialkot, Chiniot, Hafizabad, Sahiwal and Multan districts. The results showed that nitrate leaching occurred but it is only up to 2 feet soil depth. The NO3-N contents were maximum at two upper depths (i.e. 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm) and then decreased gradually downward. The highest average NO3-N content was found at 0-30 cm soil depth and the lowest were found at 90-120 cm. The data also revealed that mean NO3-N content at 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120 cm depths were 16.85±4.05, 15.21±4.77, 9.94±3.36 and 6.54±2.62 mg kg-1, respectively, whereas NO3-N content at same depths were ranged from 11.50-26.20, 6.53-21.15, 5.24-16.12, 1.45-9.36 mg kg-1, respectively. The results regarding underground water samples (tube well) from the same sites from all the three districts showed that NO3 were found in all the water samples but it was only in traces and their concentration were not much higher to create the health hazardous problem owing to NO3 leaching. The data showed that the highest NO3 contents did not exceed than 8.61 and 10.6 ppm in Multan and Sahiwal districts respectively, which were much lower than permissible limit i.e. 50 ppm (FAO). Similarly, the nitrate content in underground water are well below the maximum admissible limit of WHO i.e. 50 mg L-1