Sporadic cjd and retinitis punctata albescansa case report and literature review

Introduction Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is the most common form of CJD causing 85% of all cases. Various phenotypes of sCJD have been identified including Heidenhain variant which has early and predominant visual symptoms with most pronounced neuropathological changes in occipital lobe. Methodology. We are reporting a case of sCJD with Retinitis Punctata Albescens (RPA), a variant of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), which to our knowledge has not been reported before. A 51 year old, married, right handed, Pakistani woman presented with dementia and gait problems for 3 months and visual hallucinations for 2 months. Ophthalmological examination 3 years prior to current presentation scattered white dots on the retina in both eyes centrally and peripherally and a diagnosis of retinitis punctata albescens (RPA) was made. MRI brain showed T2 hyperintensities and restricted diffusion on DWI in frontal, parietal and temporal cortices as well as caudate and putamen bilaterally. EEG showed slow posterior background activity and poorly formed tri-phasic waves. We diagnosed probable sCJD using the 1998 WHO criteria. Patient also met UCSF sCJD criteria. Discussion. Visual symptoms in sCJD are more commonly associated with posterior cortical pathology and less commonly with retinal pathology. However this is an isolated case report and warrants validation

A study of word frequency in written Urdu

Performance on word processing tasks is known to be influenced by the frequency with which words occur in a language. Large and robust effects of word frequency occur across languages and the processes thought to be sensitive to word frequency are considered fundamentally important characteristics of the mental lexicon (Monsell, 1991). A major role of these frequency sensitive processes is embedded in most models of word recognition. Indeed the adequacy of models of word recognition hinges upon their ability to explain this pervasive effect. Thus, it is imperative to understand the effects of frequency in the processing of any language under study and it is crucial that this ubiquitous effect be controlled when examining less robust and influential effects. To my knowledge, no frequency data exists for Urdu, a South Asian language of Perso-Arabic origin. My ultimate goal is to study language processing in native and bilingual speakers of Urdu, and before I embark on this endeavour, it is essential to provide a word frequency database for the language. I have thus constructed a word frequency database for written Urdu. The frequency counts from this database will help psycholinguists and cognitive psychologists conduct and control future studies on the mental lexicon using Urdu. The credibility of this database has been demonstrated by conducting a lexical decision task using words from this database. A frequency effect was obtained which not only indicated that this database is a valid research tool, but also replicated the robust word frequency effect for Urdu.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2006 .K43. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-01, page: 0485. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2006

Lexical Representation and Processing in Cross-Script Urdu-English Bilinguals: The Case of Frequency-Balanced and Frequency-Unbalanced Cognates and Noncognates

The overall goal of this study was to examine the nature of lexical access and representation of frequency-balanced and frequency-unbalanced cognate and noncognate words in a previously unexamined cross-script language pair. More specifically, Experiment 1 was designed to determine if the cognate advantage obtained for same-script languages in the simple lexical decision task will also be obtained for the Urdu-English language pair. Both facilitation and inhibition effects were obtained for cognate words when participants were tested in English. This indicated nonselective lexical access and interconnectivity of the bilingual mental lexicon. However, when participants were tested in Urdu, a statistically significant cognate effect was not obtained. Experiment 2 was designed to examine whether the discrepancy in findings across cross-script studies in terms of the magnitude of the cognate and noncognate priming effect in a masked priming task can be attributed to frequency differences in the word stimuli as proposed previously. No significant priming effect was obtained for cognates or noncognates in any of the frequency-balanced conditions unlike the results from previous studies. However, a significant cognate and noncognate priming effect was found for some of the frequency-unbalanced conditions and again both facilitation and inhibition effects were suggested. The current version of the BIA+ model does not incorporate lateral inhibition effects at the phonological level for cross-script cognates. The findings from this study are explained within the BIA+ framework by allowing for lateral inhibition at the phonological level. In addition, the role of individual differences in language proficiency and processing strategy is also considered

The Impact on Financial Inclusion in The Era of Covid-19: A Case of Developing Countries

The world still has a large unbanked population, which regularly contributes to unbanked transactions. The problem is a lack of trust, financial insecurity, and knowledge about the products and services of financial inclusion. Financial inclusion provides timely and cost-effective access to financial products and services like loans and credit facilities to low-income vulnerable groups. COVID-19 has badly affected all the world's economies and caused them to suffer a great recession, which makes it essential to include the unbanked population in the net of financial inclusion. This study aims to measure the impact of COVID-19 on financial inclusion in developing countries by taking data from 2017 to 2020. The results concluded that increased fintech technology, such as mobile money services during COVID-19, increased financial technology. People started using mobile accounts during COVID-19 to avoid the risk of getting infected by this novel virus

In Vitro Hepatic Differentiation of Adult, Embryonic, Induced Pluripotent and Perinatal Stem-Cells

Globally regenerative medicine is considered as one of the rapidly growing biomedical industry have objective to substitute damaged cells. Cell transplantation is less intrusive than whole-organ transplantation, and has been used to provide an alternative for patients to whole-organ transplantation. The End-stage liver disease comprises a subgroup of patients with cirrhosis who have signs of decompensation that is irreversible with medical treatment. The only restorative therapy for severe end-stage liver disease is orthotropic liver transplantation. However, liver transplantation has several limitations such as scarcity of organ donors, immunosuppressive drugs, and several postoperative complications. Thus, cell transplantation can be used for the treatment of end stage liver disorders to decrease the mortality in acute liver failure. Therefore, stem cells can be used for cellular therapy, development of liver disease models, and tissue-engineering applications. This review involved the studies conducted on the stem cells potential of hepatic differentiation, isolated from different sources. The PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for scientific studies reported the sources of stem cells based on their origin and their potential of hepatic differentiation in-vitro by using different tools of differentiation. All the research articles were selected in which solely hepatic differentiation in combination with different tools is reported. Keywords: Adult Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, In-vitro, Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Histopathological Pattern in Adult Nephrotic Syndrome: A Single Center Study from Karachi

Nephrotic syndrome is one of the most common indications of renal biopsy. It is essential to have tissue diagnosis in these patients for instituting the correct treatment. Several studies are available from other centers in Pakistan. Our study is useful addition to this pool of information. It will help the researchers and clinicians equally in better understand the disease pattern of kidney diseases in Pakistan. The objective of this study is to determine the histopathological pattern of the kidney diseases in patients who presented to Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi Pakistan with the diagnosis of Nephrotic syndrome. Kidney biopsy data of ten years from 2003 to 2012 was reviewed to select the cases with the diagnosis o

Development and validation of sunlight exposure measurement questionnaire (SEM-Q) for use in adult population residing in Pakistan

Background: Vitamin D deficiency has been identified as a major public health problem worldwide. Sunlight is the main source of vitamin D and its measurement using dosimeters is expensive and difficult for use in population-based studies. Hence, the aim of this study was to develop and validate questionnaires to assess sunlight exposure in healthy individuals residing in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: Two questionnaires with seven important items for sunlight exposure assessment were developed. Fifty four healthy adults were enrolled based on their reported sunlight exposure (high = 17, moderate = 18, low = 19) from Aga Khan University, Karachi. Over four days, study participants were asked to wear a dosimeter between sunrise and sunset and report time spent and activities undertaken in the sun for questionnaire validation. Algorithm for item weightage was created as an average score based on ultraviolet B percentage received. Blood samples were obtained for serum vitamin D. Results: The mean time (minutes) spent in sun over 4 days (±SD) was 69.5 (±32) for low, 83.5 (±29.7) for moderate and 329 (±115) for high exposure group. The correlation between average time (minutes) spent in sun over 4 days and mean change in absorbance of UV dosimeters for 4 days was 0.60 (p \u3c 0.01). Correlation between average score and vitamin D levels was found to be 0.36 (p = 0.01) for short term questionnaire score, 0.43 (p = 0.01) for long term questionnaire score in summers and 0.48 (p = 0.01) in winters. Conclusions: The sunlight exposure measurement questionnaires were valid tools for use in large epidemiological studies to quantify sunlight exposure

Pattern of Thrombocytopenia In Pregnancy At Teaching Hospital Of Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan

Background:  Platelet count less than 150 × 109 / L is referred to as thrombocytopenia, which is the second common blood disorder in pregnancy after anemia. Although pregnancy is related with physiological variations in platelet count, however, several pathological conditions also cause thrombocytopenia showing significant impact on health of mother and her baby. The prevalence of thrombocytopenia during pregnancy is 7 to 11%. The physiological thrombocytopenia is multifactorial, related to hemodilution, increased platelet consumption and increased platelet aggregation. Objective: To determine the pattern of thrombocytopenia during third trimester of pregnancy in Rahim Yar Khan. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out at Teaching Hospital of Rahim Yar Khan with effect from May 16, 2022 to September 30, 2022. Five hundred (500) pregnant females in their third trimester were the part of this study. All the study subjects were selected from the department of gynecology and obstetrics at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan which is a renowned teaching hospital of the region attached with Sheikh Zayed Medical College. Data collection was done on a pre-designed questionnaire. Sample of blood was taken in EDTA and Gel containing vacutainers by convenient sampling technique. Results: The frequency of thrombocytopenia during pregnancy was found 10.4%. Gestational thrombocytopenia was the most common type among thrombocytopenic pregnancies with frequency of 63.46% in comparison to pre-eclampsia 30.76%, HELLP Syndrome 3.80% and immune thrombocytopenic purpura 1.90%. The mean age of pregnant women was observed 27.53±5 years. There is no significant difference in number of thrombocytopenic patients from rural and urban areas (p=0.2). Conclusion: The frequency of thrombocytopenia during the third trimester of pregnancy is observed high, so the regular screening is necessary to avoid any adverse outcome. Specially the patients with Pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome should be monitored critically.   Key words: Platelet Count, Thrombocytopenia in Pregnancy, Types of Thrombocytopenia, Pre-Eclampsi