Characterization of genes involved in the regulation of programmed cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana

Geprogrammeerde celdood (PCD) is een belangrijk onderdeel in de levenscyclus van meercellige organismen. Het is de eliminatie van ongewenste of ernstig beschadigde cellen via een complex en genetisch gecontroleerd proces. Het doel van het onderzoek van Kamran Qureshi was genen te karakteriseren die betrokken zijn bij de regulatie van PCD in de onderzoeksmodelplant Arabidopsis thaliana . PCD is een complex en genetisch gecontroleerd proces, waarbij zowel AAL-toxines als ROS fungeren als signaalmoleculen die de inductie en uitvoering starten van de PCD-cascade in planten. AAL-toxines zijn gastheerspecifieke stoffen, uitgescheiden door de ziekteverwekkende schimmel Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici, die giftig zijn voor planten. ROS zijn reactieve zuurstof deeltjes. Beide soorten signaalmoleculen leiden tot een massale herprogrammering op het transcriptionele niveau. In het bijzonder bestudeerde Qureshi de rol van vroeg gereguleerde genen tijdens de door ROS en AAL-toxines veroorzaakte PCD. Daarnaast heeft hij genen geïsoleerd en gekarakteriseerd met een mogelijkerol in de door ROS en AAL-toxines veroorzaakte PCD. Qureshi wist zodoende aan te tonen dat mutaties in deze genen leiden tot tolerantie voor ROS-en AAL-toxines, wat wijst op een relatie tussen AAL-toxines en ROS tijdens de PCD. De identificatie van regulators is van belang voor het begrijpen van het complexe proces van PCD. Daarnaast kunnen deze regulators nuttig zijn bij het begrijpen van verdedigingsmechanismen van planten tegen pathogene aanvallen en ophoping van ROS veroorzaakt door externe prikkels. Kamran Qureshi (Pakistan, 1981) studeerde Plant Breeding & genetics aan de University of Agriculture in Faisalabad. Zijn promotieonderzoek deed hij aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, bij het Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB). Het werd gefinancierd door gelden van de Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, en vanhet GBB

‘Technology’ and ‘Environment’ as Main Determinants of CDSS for Affective Decisions by Physicians of both Public and Private Hospitals in Developing Countries (DCs)

ICTs in healthcare sector are considered as a key element to improve decision-making in hospitals by improving the healthcare delivery services. The hesitation of having new technologies is still one of the biggest issues in developing countries for both the developers and users of hospital IT systems. This paper is intended to investigate the CDSS as one of the emerging technologies which are being used in decision-making of both the public and private hospitals by physicians and doctors for their decisions to be declared as rational ones. Data was collected from public and private hospitals of Peshawar city KPK, Pakistan. Two organizational factors (environment and technology); an enabling technology (CDSS) and three decision-making steps (intelligence, design and choice) have been used in designing the framework of the study. Data analysis reveals that only the technology factors is significantly related with the decision making process, with technology as a main predictor of decision support systems for the doctors and physicians. Decision making process and enabling technology are significantly positively related with effective decision making with the enabling technology (CDSS) as the highest predictor. Key words: Technology, Environment, CDSS and Decision Making

Factors affecting use of ICTs for Rational Decision-making in Healthcare Organizations of Developing Countries (DCs)

The increasing pressure of business environment of the information age is forcing the organizations of the entire world to adopt and use Information and communication technologies (ICTs) in decision making. It is well reported that private sector organizations are using information system for achieving strategic advantages and gaining financial and business benefits more than its public counterpart. The literature nevertheless offers limited understanding in regard of the impacts of ICTs on public and private health sector organization in Pakistani context. This study aims to investigate the adoption and use of ICTs in decision making of both the public and private health organizations to figure out existing differences. Factors like human and organization; three enabling technologies (TPS, MIS and EIS) and three decision-making phases (intelligence, design and choice) have been used in designing the framework of the study. Data analyses reveal that organization is the strongest factor for the success of IT. Literature also highlights that Decision making process and enabling technologies are significantly positively related with effective decision making with enabling technologies as significant factor. The finding of the study reveals that the public health organizations are far behind in using ICTs in decision making than their private counterpart. The executives of public organizations neither take interest in the adoption and use of ICTs nor have awareness and experience to solve their problems. It is worth mentioning that the Government of Pakistan is moving towards digitization.   Key words: IT-usage factors (human & organization), Enabling Technologies (EIS, MIS, TPS), Decision-making process (intelligence, design, choice) and Effective decision

Comparative Evaluation of Whole Body and Hepatic Insulin Resistance Using Indices from Oral Glucose Tolerance Test in Morbidly Obese Subjects with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome and is a marker of Insulin Resistance (IR). Euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp is the gold standard for measuring whole body IR (hepatic + peripheral IR). However, it is an invasive and expensive procedure. Homeostasis Model Assessment Index for Insulin Sensitivity (HOMA-IS), Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI) for hepatic IR and Insulin Sensitivity Index (ISI0,120), and Whole Body Insulin Sensitivity Index (WBISI) for whole body IR are the indices calculated after Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). We used these indices as noninvasive methods of IR (inverse of insulin sensitivity) estimation and compared hepatic/peripheral components of whole body IR in NAFLD. Methods. 113 morbidly obese, nondiabetic subjects who underwent gastric bypass surgery and intraoperative liver biopsy were included in the study. OGTT was performed preoperatively and the indices were calculated. Subjects were divided into closely matched groups as normal, fatty liver (FL) and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) based on histology. Results. Whole body IR was significantly higher in both FL and NASH groups (NAFLD) as compared to Normal, while hepatic IR was higher only in NASH from Normal. Conclusions. FL is a manifestation of peripheral IR but not hepatic IR

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DENGUE VIRUS RELATED COMPLICATIONS AND PATIENTS’ DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between observed complications in patients diagnosed with dengue fever and patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics. METHODS: This cross-sectional analysis of data collected from prospective study conducted in a private hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan and comprised data of dengue patients admitted from June 2018 to December 2019. Laboratory parameters and clinical outcomes were studied. STATA 16 was used for data management and analysis. RESULTS: Out of 200 diagnosed patients of Dengue fever, 135 (67.5%) were males and 65 (32.5%) were females. The median age of diagnosis was 36 years and 67.5% were males. Only 6 (3.0%) patients were diagnosed with severe dengue disease. Forty-two (29.0%) patients experienced one or more complication(s). Most common complications observed were coagulopathy (n=16; 8%), dengue shock syndrome (n=15; 7.5%) and sepsis with infection (n=6; 3%). Median (interquartile range-IQR) of platelet count (x10^12/l) was 72.9 (41.1-129.9) and 144.0 (100.4-205.0) in patients with and without complications respectively (p<0.001). Platelet transfusion was done in 27 (13.5%) and folic acid supplementation was given to 171 (85.5%) patients. Median (IQR) duration of hospital stay was 4 (3–6) and 3(2–4) days in patient with and without complications (<0.001). Overall mortality rate was 2.0% (n=4/200). There was a statistical difference in proportion of platelet transfusion, duration of hospital stay (number of day) and survival between those who had complications and those who didn’t (p=<0.001). CONCLUSION: Platelet transfusion and duration of hospital stay in the hospital were significantly associated with higher risk of dengue complications

Characterization of Arterial Wave Reflection in Healthy Bonnet Macaques: Feasibility of Applanation Tonometry

Nonhuman primates are commonly used in cardiovascular research. Increased arterial stiffness is a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis and higher CV risk. We determined the augmentation index (AI) using applanation tonometry in 61 healthy monkeys (59% female, age 1–25 years). Technically adequate studies were obtained in all subjects and required 1.5 ± 1.3 minutes. The brachial artery provided the highest yield (95%). AI was correlated with heart rate (HR) (r = −0.65, P < .001), crown rump length (CRL) (r = 0.42, P = .001), and left ventricular (LV) mass determined using echocardiography (r = 0.52, P < .001). On multivariate analysis, HR (P < .001) and CRL (P = .005) were independent predictors of AI (R2 = 0.46, P < .001). Body Mass Index (BMI) and AI were independent predictors of higher LV mass on multivariate analysis (P < .001 and P = .03). In conclusion, applanation tonometry is feasible for determining AI. Reference values are provided for AI in bonnet macaques, in whom higher AI is related to HR and CRL, and in turn contributes to higher LV mass

Detection of typhoid carriers by duodenal fluid culture in a tertiary care hospital, Karachi: A cross-sectional study

We aimed to detect typhoid carriers by performing duodenal fluid culture in patients in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2017 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were included. Participants were interviewed, and duodenal fluid samples were taken for culture to detect Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) and paratyphi. A polymerase chain reaction on 100 randomly selected sub-samples was also conducted. A total of 477 participants were enrolled. The mean age was 42.4±15.5 years. History of typhoid fever was present in 73 (15.3%) participants. Out of the 477 duodenal fluid cultures tested for various micro-organisms, 250 (52.4%) were positive. Neither S. typhi nor paratyphi were isolated. S. typhi was also not detected by PCR. To better detect S. typhi carriage in general population, future studies should target people with gall bladder diseases and screen them using culture and PCR based methods