Confederacy of ABO Alleles with Ischemic Heart Disease: An Angiographic Study

Objective: To establish whether the ABO alleles are in confederacy with Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) in Pakistani PopulationStudy Design: Analytic comparative studyPlace and Duration: Punjab Institute of Cardiology Lahore, from September 2015 to September 2016Methodology: About 734 IHD suspects and 500 controls were selected via non-probability purposive sampling techniques. Out of  734 suspects of IHD, 599 (81%) were diagnosed as confirmed IHD patients by interventional coronary. Control group were selected from adult healthy blood donors with no symptoms of IHD and normal ECG. All subjects were processed for ABO blood grouping, Baseline characteristics and cardio-vascular risk factors were assessed by a cardiologist. Chi-square test was used as a test of significance; p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Win Pepi software was used for statistical analysis of data.Results: Mean age of cases and control was 48±12.34 years and 47.3±2.38 years respectively. Both in cases and controls, number of males were more as compared to females. Blood group A and AB was significantly more in cases as compared to control. In control group blood group B and O was significantly more frequent as compared to cases. Among cases most common risk factrs were smoking (77.1%), ghee abuser (75%), hyperlipidemia (73.1%) and hypertension (71.1%). Majority of controls (59.2%) gave history of performing exercise (Table I). All the risk factors had a significant association with types of blood group. Conclusion: Blood groups are significantly different between cases and controls. Risk factors have significant association with blood groups

The constant threat of terrorism: stress levels and coping strategies amongst university students of Karachi

OBJECTIVES: To assess the levels of stress in the face of terrorism and the adopted coping strategies, amongst the student population of universities in Karachi . METHODS: A descriptive, cross sectional study was conducted on undergraduate students from four universities of Karachi. Self-administered questionnaires were filled out by 291 students. Pearson Chi-Square test was used to assess associations between stress levels and different variables at a level of significance of 0.05% . RESULTS: A total of 65.8% of the students had mild stress levels, 91.5% of university students were exposed to terrorism through television, while only 26.5% students reported personal exposure to terrorism. 67.4% students were forbidden by their parents to go out (p = 0.002). Most of those who had self exposure to an attack were the ones whose parents forbade them from going out (p = 0.00). Most commonly used coping strategy was increased faith in religion. Irritability was the most common stress symptom . CONCLUSION: A majority of students studying in universities of Karachi had mild stress levels due to the constant threat of terrorism whereas a minority had severe stress levels. Possible reasons for resilience and only mild stress levels could be the history of Karachi\u27s internal conflicts and its prolonged duration of being exposed to terrorism. These students who are positive for stress need to be targeted for counseling either through the media or through their universities. More extensive research is needed in this area

Effect of surgical experience and spine subspecialty on the reliability of the {AO} Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System

OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper was to determine the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility of the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System based on surgeon experience (< 5 years, 5–10 years, 10–20 years, and > 20 years) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine surgery, neurosurgery, and "other" surgery). METHODS A total of 11,601 assessments of upper cervical spine injuries were evaluated based on the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System. Reliability and reproducibility scores were obtained twice, with a 3-week time interval. Descriptive statistics were utilized to examine the percentage of accurately classified injuries, and Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was used to screen for potentially relevant differences between study participants. Kappa coefficients (κ) determined the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility. RESULTS The intraobserver reproducibility was substantial for surgeon experience level (< 5 years: 0.74 vs 5–10 years: 0.69 vs 10–20 years: 0.69 vs > 20 years: 0.70) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine: 0.71 vs neurosurgery: 0.69 vs other: 0.68). Furthermore, the interobserver reliability was substantial for all surgical experience groups on assessment 1 (< 5 years: 0.67 vs 5–10 years: 0.62 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.62), and only surgeons with > 20 years of experience did not have substantial reliability on assessment 2 (< 5 years: 0.62 vs 5–10 years: 0.61 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.59). Orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons had substantial intraobserver reproducibility on both assessment 1 (0.64 vs 0.63) and assessment 2 (0.62 vs 0.63), while other surgeons had moderate reliability on assessment 1 (0.43) and fair reliability on assessment 2 (0.36). CONCLUSIONS The international reliability and reproducibility scores for the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System demonstrated substantial intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability regardless of surgical experience and spine subspecialty. These results support the global application of this classification system

Prevalence and attributable health burden of chronic respiratory diseases, 1990–2017: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2017

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license Background: Previous attempts to characterise the burden of chronic respiratory diseases have focused only on specific disease conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. In this study, we aimed to characterise the burden of chronic respiratory diseases globally, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis on geographical and time trends from 1990 to 2017. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, we estimated the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality attributable to chronic respiratory diseases through an analysis of deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and years of life lost (YLL) by GBD super-region, from 1990 to 2017, stratified by age and sex. Specific diseases analysed included asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, pneumoconiosis, and other chronic respiratory diseases. We also assessed the contribution of risk factors (smoking, second-hand smoke, ambient particulate matter and ozone pollution, household air pollution from solid fuels, and occupational risks) to chronic respiratory disease-attributable DALYs. Findings: In 2017, 544·9 million people (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 506·9–584·8) worldwide had a chronic respiratory disease, representing an increase of 39·8% compared with 1990. Chronic respiratory disease prevalence showed wide variability across GBD super-regions, with the highest prevalence among both males and females in high-income regions, and the lowest prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. The age-sex-specific prevalence of each chronic respiratory disease in 2017 was also highly variable geographically. Chronic respiratory diseases were the third leading cause of death in 2017 (7·0% [95% UI 6·8–7·2] of all deaths), behind cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms. Deaths due to chronic respiratory diseases numbered 3 914 196 (95% UI 3 790 578–4 044 819) in 2017, an increase of 18·0% since 1990, while total DALYs increased by 13·3%. However, when accounting for ageing and population growth, declines were observed in age-standardised prevalence (14·3% decrease), age-standardised death rates (42·6%), and age-standardised DALY rates (38·2%). In males and females, most chronic respiratory disease-attributable deaths and DALYs were due to COPD. In regional analyses, mortality rates from chronic respiratory diseases were greatest in south Asia and lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, also across both sexes. Notably, although absolute prevalence was lower in south Asia than in most other super-regions, YLLs due to chronic respiratory diseases across the subcontinent were the highest in the world. Death rates due to interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis were greater than those due to pneumoconiosis in all super-regions. Smoking was the leading risk factor for chronic respiratory disease-related disability across all regions for men. Among women, household air pollution from solid fuels was the predominant risk factor for chronic respiratory diseases in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, while ambient particulate matter represented the leading risk factor in southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania, and in the Middle East and north Africa super-region. Interpretation: Our study shows that chronic respiratory diseases remain a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with growth in absolute numbers but sharp declines in several age-standardised estimators since 1990. Premature mortality from chronic respiratory diseases seems to be highest in regions with less-resourced health systems on a per-capita basis. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Confederacy of ABO Alleles with Ischemic Heart Disease: An Angiographic Study

Objective: To establish whether the ABO alleles are in confederacy with Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) in Pakistani PopulationStudy Design: Analytic comparative studyPlace and Duration: Punjab Institute of Cardiology Lahore, from September 2015 to September 2016Methodology: About 734 IHD suspects and 500 controls were selected via non-probability purposive sampling techniques. Out of  734 suspects of IHD, 599 (81%) were diagnosed as confirmed IHD patients by interventional coronary. Control group were selected from adult healthy blood donors with no symptoms of IHD and normal ECG. All subjects were processed for ABO blood grouping, Baseline characteristics and cardio-vascular risk factors were assessed by a cardiologist. Chi-square test was used as a test of significance; p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Win Pepi software was used for statistical analysis of data.Results: Mean age of cases and control was 48±12.34 years and 47.3±2.38 years respectively. Both in cases and controls, number of males were more as compared to females. Blood group A and AB was significantly more in cases as compared to control. In control group blood group B and O was significantly more frequent as compared to cases. Among cases most common risk factrs were smoking (77.1%), ghee abuser (75%), hyperlipidemia (73.1%) and hypertension (71.1%). Majority of controls (59.2%) gave history of performing exercise (Table I). All the risk factors had a significant association with types of blood group. Conclusion: Blood groups are significantly different between cases and controls. Risk factors have significant association with blood groups

Antimicrobial activity of comfort related properties of silk treated with herbal extracts in making of reusable masks

The study was aimed at divulging an eco-friendly antimicrobial finish on 100 % silk woven fabric. The leaves’ extract of Azadirachata indica, Butea monosperma and Litche chinensis were used as the development of eco-friendly antimicrobial finish. The antimicrobial property and comfort related property were checked before and after applying antimicrobial finish. In comfort related property absorbency & air permeability were checked. The ASTEM E2149 Shake Flask method was used to check antimicrobial finish and AATCC method was used for checking fabric property. One way ANOVA statistical test was applied for analysis of results. The FTIR and SEM results showed the presences of finish on fabrics. In comfort related property, absorbency and air permeability was increased. The results showed that antimicrobial finish made 100% reduction against microorganism up to 25 washes which can be used in making reusable masks fight against COVID- 19

GC/MS profiling, in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and haemolytic activities of Smilax macrophylla leaves

The current study has been designed to appraise the antioxidant, antimicrobial and haemolytic potential of Smilax macrophylla leaves. The n-hexane fraction was analysed by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer which revealed the presence of 38 compounds. All examined extracts and fractions of plant leaves showed significant antimicrobial activity. The haemolytic effect of the plant was found to be in a range of 3.41–8.48%. S. macrophylla leaves contained substantial level of total phenolic contents (2.2–6.2 Gallic acid equivalent mg/g) and total flavonoid contents (1.2–4.5 Catechin, mg/g) of dry plant matter. Leaf extract and fractions also exhibited a good antioxidant potential when measured by DPPH radical scavenging assay (Inhibitory concentration 50% = 33.4–72.3 μg/mL). The antioxidant activity of plant extracts was also studied using sunflower oil as an oxidative substrate and found that it stabilized the oil. Significant (p < 0.05) variations were observed in the results. The correlation between the results of different antioxidant assays and oxidation parameters of oil indicated that leaf extracts and fractions, exhibit considerable total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents and scavenging power, along with more potent for enhancing the oxidative stability of sunflower oil. Considering these results, S. macrophylla could be used as a source for the exploration of new antimicrobial, antioxidant agents, functional food and nutraceutical applications

Conversion of Phaseolus vulgaris into chemically functionalized biocomposites for efficient methylene blue removal: kinetics, isothermal, and thermodynamics analysis

Herein, green beans “Phaseolus vulgaris” have been successfully converted into polypyrrole-modified and polyethylene glycol-based magnetic nanocomposites for efficient removal of methylene blue (MB) dye removal from wastewater. The physicochemical properties including morphologies and functionalities were also examined. Comparative analysis of all designed nanocomposites toward MB dye removal demonstrated that under optimized batch adsorption experimental conditions (pH 9, dosage 0.05 g, contact time 90 min, and initial MB concentration 50 mg L−1 at 28 °C) the Ppy/BB magnetic nanocomposites exhibited excellent removal efficacy with values of 47.09 mg g−1 and 97.96%. Isothermal and kinetic dynamic analysis revealed that the best-fit models were the Freundlich isothermal model and the Pseudo-2nd-order model with R2 > 0.991 and R2 > 0.999, respectively. The synthesized nanocomposites demonstrated a high affinity for the adsorption of dyes in the context of the present analysis, and this innovative class of biomass-derived materials can be employed for the eco-friendly remediation of polluted water containing MB toxic dye. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.FALS

Hematological Side Effects During Combination Therapy With Interferon and Ribavirin In Chronic Hepatitis C

Background :To determine the frequency of hematological side effects (anemia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia) during combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C patients.Methods: In this cross sectional study 228 patients of chronic HCVwere included. Patients were given injection IFN 3 MIU subcutaneously thrice weekly and ribavirin 800 – 1200 mg/day orally. Haematological profile was performed in all these patients at weeks 4,12 and 24. Patients who required dose reduction or discontinuation of drug were excluded form the studyResults: Overall mean age was 39.6 (±9.2) years with male to female ratio of 2.2: 1. Haematological abnormalities were seen in 37.3%. Anaemia (19.3%) was the commonest haematological abnormality followed by neutropenia(15.6%) and thrombocytopenia (9.9%). Multiple side effects were seen in 38.5%.Conclusion: Amongst the haematological disorders anemia and thrombocytopenia were the most common and least common respectively during the combination therapy of chronic hepatitis C. while neutropenia followed as second common serious haematological disorder