INFLUENCING THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS SMS ADVERTISEMENT: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN PAKISTAN

This research paper aims to examine the relationship betweenthe predictors and consequences of SMS advertising value alongwith its mediating effect in the perspective of Islamic Republic ofPakistan. For this purpose causal and cross-sectional study withminimal researchers’ interference and focus on the attitude ofindividuals was put forward. A personally-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from those 194 undergraduate and graduate students of universities who were the users of cell phone. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypotheses.There is significant relationship between infotainment, credibilityand SMS advertising value. Conversely irritation has no significant association with SMS advertising value. Advertising Value, in turns, has strong impact on attitude towards SMS advertisement. Advertising value also has full mediating effect between infotainment, credibility and attitude towards SMS advertisement and has no mediating effect between irritation and attitude towards SMS advertisement. This study imparts the enterprises and businesses with the modern and economical tool of advertisement and also a value addition to the literature

Innovative Strategies for the Control of Biofilm Formation in Clinical Settings

Biofilm formation in clinical settings is an increasingly important issue particularly due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains, as it resulted in increased mortality, which poses a considerable financial burden on healthcare systems. The bacterial biofilms are quite resistant to the routine antimicrobial-based therapies; therefore, the novel strategies are desired in addition to the conventional antibiotics for the effective control of infections caused by biofilm-forming microbes. So far, the approaches being proposed to control the biofilm formation in clinical practice settings include the use of biofilm inhibitors and the use of modified biomaterials for the development of medical devices to thwart the formation of biofilms. In this chapter, we have focused on the latest developments in the anti-biofilm strategies through the interruption of the quorum-sensing system, which is crucial for biofilm formation and have summarized the various classes of antibacterial compounds for the control of biofilm formation. This agrees with the recent approaches suggested by the National Institute of Health (NIH) that advocates the use of combinational therapies based on the conventional methods and complementary treatment to explore the potential utility and safety concerns of the natural products. The studies regarding these emerging strategies could possibly lead to the establishment of better therapeutic alternates compared to conventional treatments

Antimicrobial Resistance

Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) pose an emerging threat to public health sector worldwide. They are one of the potent nosocomial pathogens and cause variety of infections including pneumonia, septicaemia, wound infections, urinary tract infections and catheter-associated infections. From the last two decades, these pathogens are becoming more powerful due to the acquisition of resistomes on different types of plasmids and transposons. There are four main mechanisms of antibacterial resistance such as efflux pump, target alteration, membrane permeability and notably enzymes hydrolysis. K. pneumoniae produce different types of enzymes but most importantly extended spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL), carbapenemase and metallo-β-lactamase (MBL). K. pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPCs) and New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) producing isolates displayed resistance not only against the β-lactam drugs (penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems) but also to other classes of antibiotics (aminoglycosides and quinolones). Therapeutic options available to treat serious infections caused by these extensively drug-resistant pathogens are limited to colistin, tigecycline and fosfomycin. Hence, combination therapy has also been recommended to treat such bacteria with clinical side effects, therefore, new treatment regime must be required. Moreover, we are relying on conventional diagnostic tools, however, novel techniques must be required for robust identification of multi-drug-resistant bacteria

Hurdles in Vaccine Development against Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is a major cause of severe respiratory disease in infants and young children worldwide and also forms a serious threat for the elderly. Vaccination could significantly relieve the burden of the RSV disease. However, unfortunately there is no licensed vaccine available so far. This is partly due to disastrous outcome of a clinical trial of formalin-inactivated RSV (FI-RSV) in children in 1960s; leading to enhanced respiratory disease upon natural infection. These findings contributed significantly to the delay of RSV vaccine development. Other key obstacles in development of RSV vaccine such as a peak of severe disease at 2–3 months of age, challenging biochemical behavior of key vaccine antigens and dependence on animal models that may not truly reflect human disease processes. These challenges could be overcome through maternal immunization, structure-based engineering of vaccine antigens, the design of a novel platform for safe infant immunization, and the development of improved animal models. Currently, several vaccine candidates are in pre-clinical and clinical trials targeting the diverse age groups; young children or older adults from the infection or can reduce incidence, mortality and morbidity among the RSV infected individuals

Carbapenem Resistance: Mechanisms and Drivers of Global Menace

The emergence of carbapenem-resistant bacterial pathogens is a significant and mounting health concern across the globe. At present, carbapenem resistance (CR) is considered as one of the most concerning resistance mechanisms and mainly found in gram-negative bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family. Although carbapenem resistance has been recognized in Enterobacteriaceae from last 20 years or so, recently it emerged as a global health issue as CR clonal dissemination of various Enterobacteriaceae members especially E. coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae are reported from across the globe at an alarming rate. Phenotypically, carbapenems resistance is in due to the two key mechanisms, like structural mutation coupled with β-lactamase production and the ability of the pathogen to produce carbapenemases which ultimately hydrolyze the carbapenem. Additionally, penicillin-binding protein modification and efflux pumps are also responsible for the development of carbapenem resistance. Carbapenemases are classified into different classes which include Ambler classes A, B, and D. Several mobile genetic elements (MGEs) have their potential role in carbapenem resistance like Tn4401, Class I integrons, IncFIIK2, IncF1A, and IncI2. Taking together, resistance against carbapenems is continuously evolving and posing a significant health threat to the community. Variable mechanisms that are associated with carbapenem resistance, different MGEs, and supplementary mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in association with virulence factors are expanding day by day. Timely demonstration of this global health concern by using molecular tools, epidemiological investigations, and screening may permit the suitable measures to control this public health menace

Interaction Analysis of MRP1 with Anticancer Drugs Used in Ovarian Cancer: In Silico Approach

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the major therapeutic challenges that limits the efficacy of chemotherapeutic response resulting in poor prognosis of ovarian cancer (OC). The multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) is a membrane-bound ABC transporter involved in cross resistance to many structurally and functionally diverse classes of anticancer drugs including doxorubicin, taxane, and platinum. In this study, we utilize homology modelling and molecular docking analysis to determine the binding affinity and the potential interaction sites of MRP1 with Carboplatin, Gemcitabine, Doxorubicin, Paclitaxel, and Topotecan. We used AutoDock Vina scores to compare the binding affinities of the anticancer drugs against MRP1. Our results depicted Carboplatin \u3c Gemcitabine \u3c Topotecan \u3c Doxorubicin \u3c Paclitaxel as the order of binding affinities. Paclitaxel has shown the highest binding affinity whereas Carboplatin displayed the lowest affinity to MRP1. Interestingly, our data showed that Carboplatin, Paclitaxel, and Topotecan bind specifically to Asn510 residue in the transmembrane domains 1 of the MRP1. Our results suggest that Carboplatin could be an appropriate therapeutic choice against MRP1 in OC as it couples weakly with Carboplatin. Further, our findings also recommend opting Carboplatin with Gemcitabine as a combinatorial chemotherapeutic approach to overcome MDR phenotype associated with recurrent OC. View Full-Tex

Assessment of medication prescription errors and their contributory factors in major cities of Punjab Province, Pakistan: A cross-sectional survey

Purpose: To evaluate the prescription errors and their contributory factors in Punjab, Pakistan.Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 major cities of Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 1,184 prescriptions were collected from patients using a convenient sampling method from homes, pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals. The data were presented in frequency and percentage using descriptive statistics. To determine the association between the variables assessed, Chi-square (X2) test was used.Results: A total of 1,184 prescriptions were analyzed; 432 of them (36.5 %) were from prescribers who are graduate degree holders, and 752 (63.5 %) from prescribers who are post-graduate degree holders. The most commonly missing parameters in the prescriptions were the age of the patients (835 representing 29.4 %), signatures of the prescribers (755 representing 26.5 %), and prefix (622 representing 21.9 %). The number of prescription errors was significantly correlated to prescriber qualification (p = 0.001). The prescription errors were more common in age groups of prescribers: 21 - 30 years (654 representing 23.0 %), and 31 - 40 years (1,012 representing 35.6 %) (p = 0.001). The higher number of prescription errors by post-graduate prescribers working in teaching hospitals can be attributed to the higher patient load and lack of continuing medical education programs for the prescribers.Conclusion: The government should take necessary measures for the implementation of electronic prescribing systems, and devise mechanisms for the uniform distribution of patient load amongst the prescribers working in different hospitals. Keywords: Prescription error, Prescribers, Patient load, Continuing medical education, Electronic prescribin