Microsatellite based investigation of genetic diversity in 24 synthetic wheat cultivars

Common bread wheat has very low genetic diversity. Plant breeders find it difficult to get appropriate germplasm which can be used for bread wheat improvement. Wild plant species is one of the potential sources for conferring resistant genes which can be exploited for bread wheat improvement. The challenge is to utilize these wild relatives into existing food crops without losing the genetic diversity. This study aimed to monitor genetic variability in the synthetic hexaploid wheats using microsatellites molecular markers. The polymorphism revealed by microsatellites was not very prevalent; however more Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) need to be used to select diverse synthetic lines which can be crossed with common bread wheat to enhance the crop yield and resistance against various stresses.Keywords: Microsatellite, germplasms, hexaploids, polymerase chain reaction, whea

Emergency endovascular management of a leaking saccular abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are relatively common, potentially life threatening conditions that are often asymptomatic and incidentally detected on routine screening for other problems. Vague abdominal pain and back ache are often the presenting complaints of this disease and are also the commonest complaints that a doctor comes across in the outpatient as well as the emergency room (ER). Hence it is easy to misdiagnose an AAA. A case report illustrating one such patient who presented to the gastroenterologist with vague abdominal pain and backache in whom an abdominal aneurysm was incidentally detected on ultrasound, is presented here. The patient course and complications that developed along with key points to be learnt so as to identify this disease at an early stage and prevent its complications, are discussed

Frequency distribution of HCV genotypes among chronic hepatitis C patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) genotypes frequency is important for the predication of response to therapy and duration of treatment. Despite variable response rates experienced in the case of Interferon (IFN) -based therapies, there was scarcity of data on HCV genotypes frequency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).</p> <p>Study Design</p> <p>A total of 200 blood samples were collected from chronic HCV patients prior to the initiation of anti-viral therapy. The study population included patients from 6 districts of KPK. Active HCV infection was confirmed in case of all the patients by real time PCR. HCV genotypes were determined in each case by Type-specific PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analysis revealed that out of 200 PCR positive samples; 78 (39%) were 2a, 62 (31%) were 3a, 16 (8%) were 3b, 34 (17%) were untypable while 1a, 2b and 1b were 3 (1.5%), 2 (1%) and 5 (2.5%), respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Genotype determination is not carried out prior to therapy in KPK. Although, the abundantly prevalent types (2a and 3a) of HCV in KPK are susceptible to combination therapy, yet resistance experienced in some of the chronic HCV patients may partly be attributed to the prevalence of less prevalent resistant genotypes (1a, 1b) of HCV among the population.</p

Bowled over by cricket: impact of tape-ball injuries on the eyes

Abstract PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to describe the type and severity of tape-ball cricket-related eye injuries seen at a tertiary care hospital. DESIGN: A descriptive case series. METHODS: This study included all cases of tape-ball cricket-related eye injuries presenting to the Section of Ophthalmology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2014 to January 2015. RESULTS: A total of 20 patients with tape-ball cricket-related eye injuries were treated during this period. The right eye was involved in most (14/20) of the cases. The commonest presenting symptoms included reduced/blurred vision, ocular pain, redness, and floaters. Sixty percent (12/20) of the affected eyes had a best corrected visual acuity of less than 20/200 at presentation, with the retina being the most commonly involved ocular structure. All patients reported that they were not wearing protective eyewear at the time of trauma. Despite standard management, half of the eyes had severe or total vision loss at the last follow-up (minimum, 3 months), mainly due to retinal damage. CONCLUSIONS: Our study calls for the compulsory use of protective eyewear by cricket players and for countrywide surveillance data on the true burden of this unnoticed preventable cause of unilateral eye injuries and associated vision loss

Toxicity, analgesic and sedative potential of crude extract of soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi Aspergillus flavus

Background: Aspergillus flavus  is one of the most abundant mold present around the world. The present study was conducted to investigate the acute toxicity, analgesic and sedative effect of the crude extract obtained from soil borne fungi A. flavus.Methods: The fungi was isolated from soil samples and identified morphologically and microscopically. The growth condition i.e. media, temperature, pH, and incubation period were optimized. In these optimized growth condition, A. flavus was grown in batch culture in shaking incubator. Crude contents were extracted by using ethyl acetate solvent. Crude secondary metabolites were screened for acute toxicity, analgesic and sedative effect.Results: Upon completion of the experiment, blood was collected from the tail vein of albino mice, and different haematological tests were conducted. White blood cells counts displayed a slight increase (10.6× 109/L) above their normal range (0.8–6.8 × 109/L), which may be due to the increment in the number of lymphocytes or granulocytes. However, the percentage of lymphocytes was much lower (17.7%), while the percentage of the granulocytes was higher (61.4%) than its normal range (8.6–38.9%). A reduction  in  the  mean  number  of  writhing  in  the different  test  groups  was caused by the application of the crude ethyl acetate extract through the i.p. route at different doses (50, 100, and 150 mg/kg body weight). The results of our investigation showed the EtOAc extract of A. flavus can cause a significant sedative effect in open field.Conclusion: It was concluded from the present study that the A. flavus has the potential to produce bioactive metabolites which have analgesic and sedative effect

Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Bacterial Pathogens Isolated From Wound Infections in a Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan

Background: The resistance profile of bacteria causing wound infections may vary from time to time in a given geographical location. The key objective of this study was to determine the prevalent aerobic and or facultative anaerobic bacterial types and their antibiogram to commonly prescribed antibiotics.Methods: Pus, drainage or wound swabs from various body parts of 200 patients were aseptically collected from Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and processed by standard microbiological techniques for identification of bacterial isolates and later antimicrobial susceptibility profile was determined as per Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines by using Kirby-Bauer method.Results: Out of 200 clinical wound specimens processed, Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacterial pathogen isolated (n=100, 50%), followed by Escherichia coli (n=45, 22.5%),Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=35, 17.5%), Enterobacter species (n=14, 7%), Proteus species (n=5, 2.5%) and Morganella species (n=1, 0.5%). Staphylococcus aureus (n=100) showed highest resistance to amoxicillin (82%), followed by ofloxacin (80%), sparfloxacin (78%), ciprofloxacin (71%), levofloxacin (46%) and Gentamicin (34%). Out of 100 S. aureus isolates methicillin and vancomycin resistance was found to be in 1.5 and 2% of the isolates, respectively. Among Gram negative isolates (n=100) the vast majority were resistant to augmentin, followed by cephalosporins, quinolones and almost fairly susceptible to carbapenems, cefoperazone + sulbactam and aminoglycosides.Conclusion: There is a need for judicious use of antibiotics in clinical setup. The periodic monitoring of bacterial pathogens and their susceptibility profile is very helpful in understanding the resistance phenotypes in a given area which ultimately help physicians in selecting suitable empirical therapy

Phytotoxic, Antibacterial and Haemagglutination activities of the aerial parts of Myrsine africana L.

The crude methanolic extract and various fractions derived from the aerial parts of Myrsine africana were screened in vitro for possible phytotoxic, antibacterial and haemagglutination activities. Moderate phytotoxic activity (31.25 %) was observed against Lemna minor L at 1000 μg/ml by chloroform fraction (CHCl3). The crude methanolic extract and CHCl3 fraction showed good antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae (MIC50 = 2.45 and 2.1 mg/ml respectively). The crude methanolic extract and other fractions showed moderate activity against tested bacterial strains. The CHCl3 and aqueous fractions showed no activity against Escherichia coli. Similarly, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and butanol (BuOH) fractions were found to be non active against Bacillus pumilus and Enterobacter aerogenes, respectively. Moderate haemagglutination activity was observed against human red blood cells (RBCs) of blood group AB- by crude methanolic extract and CHCl3 fraction and against AB+ by aqueous fraction, respectively. The plant specie can be a source of antibacterial agent(s) and phytolectins.Keywords: Myrsine africana, phytotoxicity, haemagglutination, antibacterial and MIC5

To tackle symptoms of computer vision syndrome in era of COVID-19

With the emergence of a novel coronavirus, there has been an increase in the use of electronic gadgets such as laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. There has been an emphasis on social distancing and work from home. Therefore, people are switched to online mode, whether it is office work or education. Both adults and children are getting dependent on electronic devices, which has led to increased symptoms of computer vision syndrome (CVS). Here, we address the symptoms that can occur with enhanced use of digital media and how that could be tackled