Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Male Reproduction

The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a normal physiological event in the male germ line. ROS are a double-edged sword, despite its role as key signaling molecules in physiological processes such as capacitation and hyperactivation, its overproduction which overwhelms the body’s antioxidant defenses is thought to affect male fertility and normal embryonic development. The excess generation of ROS in semen by exogenous and endogenous factors has been recognized as detrimental etiologies for male infertilities. Spermatozoa are vulnerable to ROS attack because they are rich in mitochondria, have abundance of substrates for free radical attack and their capacity to protect themselves from oxidative stress is limited. The cytotoxic aldehydes generated as a result of lipid peroxidation are known to form adduct with the mitochondrial protein involved in electron transport chain and stimulate generation of ROS in mitochondria. ROS and their metabolites can lead to oxidative DNA damage in mitochondria and nucleus that eventually culminates in DNA fragmentation. The presence for large amount of damaged DNA is a major characteristic of defective human spermatozoa, which affect the fertility and pregnancy outcome. Thus, as a comprehensive approach, treatment of oxidative stress should involve strategies to reduce stress-provoking conditions to help reverse sperm dysfunction

A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON EFFECTS OF HEPATOPROTECTIVE AGENTS IN ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Drug utilization evaluation of hepatoprotective drugs is important in view of the spectrum of effect and associated risks with their therapy. The study was designed to evaluate the effects and adverse effects of hepatoprotective agents. A prospective, observational study was carried out for a period of 6 months at Osmania General Hospital (a tertiary care hospital). 120 patients were evaluated receiving corticosteroids, pentoxifylline, ursodeoxycholic acid for observing a trend in hepatic parameters and its outcomes. Ursodeoxycholic acid (81.66%) was the most commonly prescribed drug in almost all cases of alcoholic liver diseases followed by pentoxifylline (10%) in hepatorenal syndrome and then prednisolone (8.33%) in fatty liver. 67 cases were reported to have the significant drop in liver transaminases and bilirubin levels. Ursodeoxycholic acid resulted in a drop of 25% serum bilirubin and 35% drop in serum ALT (alanine transaminase) and 33% drop in serum AST (aspartate transaminase) in patients in a time gap of 1 week. Among 120 cases 94 were males (78.05%) and 26 females (21.04%) and maximum patients with alcoholic liver disease belonged to age group of 30-40 years (27.6%). Ursodeoxycholic acid (300 mg once daily) is used as an off-label drug for all types of alcoholic liver disease and also for viral hepatitis. Though Ursodeoxycholic acid showed a significant drop in liver transaminases and serum bilirubin levels in cirrhotic patients a better alternative lie in liver transplantation as long as they remain abstinent from alcohol. Keywords: Alcoholic liver diseases, Hepatoprotective agents, Liver transaminases, Bilirubin, Paired t-test

The platinum coordination complex inhibits cell invasion-migration and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by altering the TGF-β-SMAD pathway in colorectal cancer

Introduction: There is a steady increase in colorectal cancer (CRC) incidences worldwide; at diagnosis, about 20 percent of cases show metastases. The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway is one of the critical pathways that influence the expression of cadherins allowing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is involved in the progression of the normal colorectal epithelium to adenoma and metastatic carcinoma. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of a novel coordination complex of platinum (salicylaldiminato) PT(II) complex with dimethyl propylene linkage (PT-complex) on TGF-β and EMT markers involved in the invasion and migration of the human HT-29 and SW620 CRC cell lines.Methods: Functional study and wound healing assay showed PT-complex significantly reduced cell motility and the migration and invasion of CRC cell lines compared to the untreated control. Western blot performed in the presence and absence of TGF-β demonstrated that PT-complex significantly regulated the TGF-β-mediated altered expressions of EMT markers.Results and Discussion: PT-complex attenuated the migration and invasion by upregulating the protein expression of EMT-suppressing factor E-cadherin and suppressing EMT-inducing factors such as N-Cadherin and Vimentin. Moreover, PT-complex significantly suppressed the activation of SMAD3 in both CRC cell lines. Further, the microarray data analysis revealed differential expression of genes related to invasion and migration. In conclusion, besides displaying antiproliferative activity, the PT complex can decrease the metastasis of CRC cell lines by modulating TGF-β-regulated EMT markers. These findings provide new insight into TGF-β/SMAD signaling as the molecular mechanism involved in the antitumoral properties of novel PT-complex

Exacerbation of N-nitrosodiethylamine Induced Hepatotoxicity and DNA Damage in Mice Exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Stress

Psychological stress contributes to increased susceptibility to a number of diseases including cancer. The present study was designed to assess the effect of chronic unpredictable stress on N-nitrosodiethylamine induced liver toxicity in terms of in vivo antioxidant status and DNA damage in Swiss albino mice. The animals used in this study were randomized into different groups based on the treatment with N-nitrosodiethylamine or chronic unpredictable stress alone and post-stress administration of N-nitrosodiethylamine. The mice were sacrificed after 12 weeks of treatment, and the status of major enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, liver function markers, lipid peroxidation and the extent of DNA damage were determined in circulation and liver tissues of all the groups. The N-nitrosodiethylamine treated group showed significantly compromised levels of the antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation, and the liver function markers with enhanced DNA damage as compared to chronic unpredictable stress or control groups. A similar but less typical pattern observed in the chronic unpredictable stress treated mice. All the measured biochemical parameters were significantly altered in the group treated with the combination of chronic unpredictable stress and N-nitrosodiethylamine when compared to controls, or chronic unpredictable stress alone and/or N-nitrosodiethylamine alone treated groups. Thus, exposure to continuous, unpredictable stress conditions even in general life may significantly enhance the hepatotoxic potential of N-nitrosodiethylamine through an increase in the oxidative stress and DNA damage

In-Utero Neurotoxicity of Nanoparticles

The unique physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) make them widely used in cosmetics, medicines, food additives, and antibacterial and antiviral compounds. NPs are also used in therapy and diagnostic applications. Depending on their origin, the NPs are commonly classified as naturally occurring and synthetic or anthropogenic NPs. Naturally occurring nanoparticles can be formed by many physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring in all spheres of the earth. However, synthetic NPs are specifically designed or unintentionally produced by different human activities. Owing to their nano size and special properties, the engineered NPs can enter the human body through different routes such as dermal penetration, intravenous injection and inhalation. NPs may accumulate in various tissues and organs including the brain. Indiscriminate use of NP is a matter concern due to the dangers of NP exposure to living organisms. It is possible for NPs to cross the placental barrier, and adversely affect the developing fetus, posing a health hazard in them by causing neurodevelopmental toxicity. Thus, NP-induced neurotoxicity is a topic that demands attention at the maternal-fetal interface. This chapter summarizes the routes by which NPs circumvent the blood-brain barrier, including recent investigations about NPs’ neurotoxicity as well as possible mechanisms involved in neural fetotoxicity

IMPACT OF PARENTING STYLES ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN BAHAWALPUR: Fatima Khurram Bukhari, Samar Fahd, Sana Fayyaz, Sabiha Iqbal, Mahnoor Anwar

This study intended to explore the impact of different parenting styles on academic achievements of the university students. Randomly selected 91 male and 109 female students from different departments of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur were participated in the study. The data was collected with their consent through two scales. The first scale was parental Authority Questionnaire Revised version used to measure Parental authority. Second was Academic Performance scale which used to measure academic performance of students. The results were derived through statistical analysis of the data, using SPSS software. As hypothesized, it was found out that the authoritative parenting style boosts the academic achievements of the university students. Parenting styles also have significant impact on the academic achievements. Gender and family system was found significantly different but the locality of the students was insignificant. Present research has contributed in gaining the deeper understanding of the constructs understudy

Cancer-Preventive Activity of <i>Argemone mexicana</i> Linn Leaves and Its Effect on TNF-α and NF-κB Signalling

Skin cancer is the 5th most common cancer in Western countries with a surge in case occurrences making it a global burden on healthcare systems. The present study aims to evaluate the cancer-preventive activity of an ethanolic extract of Argemone mexicana Linn leaves (AML). The DMBA/TPA method was used to induce skin cancer in mice. Experimental animals were divided into three pretreatment groups of 100 mg/kg BW, 250 mg/kg BW, and 500 mg/kg BW of AML extract, and feeding was continued during the induction process. In the fourth group, 500 mg/kg BW AML extract treatment was started along with the cancer induction. The analyses were performed on the basis of the time period of in-tumour induction incidence, haematological parameters, histopathology and augmentation of TNF-α secretion and the NF-κB (p65 subunit) signalling pathway. The AML extract resisted and delayed tumour formation for up to 8 weeks in the 500 mg/kg BW pretreated group as compared to 4 weeks in the negative control group. The tumour burden varied in a dose-dependent manner in the different groups. On the 60th day, a significantly high burden (p p Argemone mexicana Linn leaves (AML) in the mouse model and paved a pathway for molecular approaches which could be explored more in future studies

FLOURISHING OF MARITAL RELATIONSHIP: ANALYZING EDUCATION AS DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLE OF PAKISTANI HUSBANDS AND WIVES: Dr. Samar Fahd, Dr. Fatima Khurram, Dr. Sabiha Iqbal, Dr. Rifat Tahira

Flourishing within marital relationship is a notion used to describe optimum quality of relationship between husband and wife. Despite profusion of research to recognize the factors underlying a happy and satisfying marital relationship, the determinant of a flourishing marital connection remains limited. Moreover, in the effort to understand flourishing of marital relationship, role of demographic variables has always been understudied. Hence, aim of the current investigation was to investigate the effects of level of education upon flourishing of Pakistani married sample. 1002 married individuals participated in this cross sectional study. Data was gathered through self-report indigenous measure of Psychological Flourishing Scale (PFS; Fahd &amp; Hanif, 2007). The data was analyzed by inferential statistics using One-way Analysis of Variance. Findings exhibited significant variances in marital flourishing on the basis of level of education. It was depicted that level of marital flourishing was highest among individuals with low level of education i.e. matric as compared to high levels of education i.e. Masters and M.Phil./PhD. The article is concluded by briefly foregrounding some of the study’s limitations as well as implications for the practice, and some of the directions for future research

EXPLORATION OF MARITAL FLOURISHING: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF MARRIED COUPLES: Dr. Samar Fahd, Dr. Rubina Hanif, Dr. Fatima Khurram, Dr. Sabiha Iqbal

The current phenomenological study explored marital experiences of Pakistani couples to investigate the factors leading to a flourishing marital life. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews that were digitally recorded and transcribed. The sample included 14 couples who were married for more than ten years. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was applied to explore the qualitative data. Two major clusters emerged from the couples’ descriptions of their marital flourishing: Personality Cluster and Relationship Cluster. The clusters was further divided that included: Commitment and Loyalty, Respect, Patterns of Communication, Degree of closeness and intimacy with the partner, Spousal support and encouragement, Interactional Styles during Conflict, Self Compassion, Ability to regulate Emotional Reactions, Capitalizing on Positive Events, Humor, Expressing love for the partner. Study has implications for Family Research Analysts working at Mental Health Solace and Pakistan Council on Family Relations. Counselors working with couples and positive psychologists can also benefit from present researchFlourishin

Quality Teaching and Learning in the Health Sciences

Quality teaching is a central tenet to the retention and success of students in higher education but teaching quality measures and indicators have not enjoyed sufficient debate and discourse within the higher education sector. The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal investigated the use of various programme and module statistics as well as student and peer evaluations of teaching to inform quality improvements in teaching and learning. Quantitative data allowed benchmarking in relation to internal University targets and national norms and pointed to the student cohorts who collectively required teaching and learning interventions but was found to have limited use in improving individual teaching practice. Qualitative data from students and peers was best able to highlight strengths and weaknesses and provided the most useful data to inform changes in teaching practice as it engendered and enhanced reflective practice. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report on quality teaching in higher education found that most evaluation instruments were related to teaching input indicators and that there was a dearth of instruments to evaluate the impact of teaching, i.e. there was no explicit evaluation criteria linking teaching input to learning outcome. The challenge for the second cycle of institutional reviews/audits will thus be (1)identifying suitable qualitative indicators/measures for quality teaching , (2) striking the correct balance between quantitative and qualitative teaching quality indicators/measures, and (3), ensuring that such indicators, both quantitative/qualitative address teaching impact/learning outcomes in addition to teaching inputs