Transfusion Related transmission of infections among blood donors of South Punjab

Objective: To investigate the frequency of blood transmissible infections in the region of South Punjab. Study design: Descriptive cross-sectional Place and duration: Study was carried out from February 2019 to February 2021 over a period of 2 years at—removed for blind review--. Methodology: All voluntary and replacement donors who arrived at the hospital between the included time period were considered for the analysis. Total two blood samples were taken from each blood donor. For blood grouping and malarial parasite screening, Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) sample was collected. Clotted sample was used for screening of Anti-HCV, HBsAg, HIV and syphilis and analyzed by ELISA. Results: Our study showed cumulative frequency of 0.8 %, 0.5% and 1% for hepatitis B, syphilis and C virus respectively, and only one case of HIV and malarial parasite observed during screening for blood transfusion among blood donors. Conclusion: Increasing transmission prevalence of hepatitis as well as syphilis in our region. Keywords: blood transfusion, infection, HBsAG, HCV

Investigation of Critical Factors for Successful ERP Implementation: An Exploratory Study

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has become vital for any organization to get a competitive advantage in today’s world. Financial organizations are improving their performance by replacing old legacy systems with the latest integrated ERP software packages. This study purposed to identify the vital determinants of ERP successful implementation in the banking sector. The data has been collected from the thirteen largest well-known commercial banks in Pakistan. This study is qualitative in nature and data has been collected interviews from respondents. After analyzing through thematic analysis, this study found the new theoretical model for future empirical investigation. Researchers and Practitioners can use these valuable insights for successful implementation of ERP in the financial sector

Using Remote Sensing for Identifying Suitable Areas for Flood Shelter: A Case Study of Thatta, Sindh Pakistan

The most recurring type of disaster in the world these days is flood because of the spread and extent of its effect on people, among all-natural disasters of the world. Human activities have paved the way for many of these flood behavior to change as they used to be in the past. Pakistan experienced one of the most devastating natural disasters in its history all across the country in 2010, but Thatta district in southern part got severely affected during this flood. For the research, a simple yet efficient methodology Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) by using remote sensing images for identifying flood hazard areas was utilized. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) helps in finding shelter areas with a minimum effect of floods. It is essential to realize the importance of mapped results in consideration of manual flood management in future. The method used in this study is robust enough to explain the flood hazard for suggesting suitable shelter sites in case of flooding events. This would help disaster management bodies and other related agencies to formulate the development plans while keeping the hazard areas, which are unsuitable for development due to flood risk in the future

Current trends in the treatment of hepatitis C

Viral hepatitis, an inflammatory liver disease, is caused by various genotypes of hepatitis C viruses (HCV). Hepatitis C slowly sprouts into fibrosis, which progresses to cirrhosis. Over a prolonged period of time compensated cirrhosis can advance to decompensated cirrhosis culminating in hepatic failure and death. Conventional treatment of HCV involves the administration of interferons. However, association of interferon with the adverse drug reactions led to the development of novel anti-HCV drugs given as monotherapy or in combination with the other drugs. Advances in drug delivery systems (DDS) improved the pharmacokinetic profile and stability of drugs, ameliorated tissue damages on extravasation and increased the targeting of affected sites. Liposomes and lipid based vehicles have been employed with polyethylene glycol (PEG) so as to stabilize the formulations as PEG drug complex. Sofosbuvir, a novel anti-HCV drug, is administered as monotherapy or in combination with daclatasvir, ledipasivir, protease inhibitors, ribavirin and interferon for the treatment of HCV genotypes 1, 2 and 3. These drug combinations are highly effective in eradicating the interferon resistance, recurrent HCV infection in liver transplant, concurrent HIV infection and preventing interferon related adverse effects. Further investigations to improve drug targeting and identification of new drug targets are highly warranted due to the rapid emergence of drug resistance in HCV

Effectiveness of pack intervention in the health care profession community on patients satisfaction

Objectives: To explore the factors that measured the patient satisfaction Measurement Tool (PS-MT) after the implementation of the Practical Approach to Care Kit at Primary healthcare centers of Lahore, Pakistan with health professionals who had been trained in the protocol. Methodology: A cross-sectional study through semi-structured interviews were carried out with doctors and nurses working at Primary health care tiers / Basic Health Units (BHUs)/ Dispensaries in the metropolitan city where the protocol was implemented. The interviews took place in the research participant's workplace, between October 2019 and March 2020. Descriptive information was represented in the form of a frequency table and graph and paired t-test was applied on pre and post changing and facilities provided to patients on primary health centers. Results: 400 respondents with 60 years of age visited the hospital.  The majority 212 of the respondents were male patients and 208 patients belong to a rural area. After the intervention, a significant difference was found in hospital management at p-value 0.02 and information system at p-value 0.000 Conclusion: We founded significant change after the implementation of the Practical Approach to Care Kit at primary healthcare centers of Pakistan with health professionals who had been trained in the protocol

Genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of whole plant extracts of Kalanchoe laciniata by Ames and MTT assay

Lack of data on safety of herbal medicines have endangered human health and life. The present study evaluated the genotoxic and mutagenic effect of Kalanchoe laciniata to access the safety and usefulness of the medicinal plant. Aqua-methanolic and n-hexane extracts of K. laciniata were evaluated for the genotoxic potential using Ames assay and cytotoxicity was evaluated using MTT assay. Ames assay was conducted using two strains of Salmonella typhimurium TA-100 and TA-102 whereas MTT assay was performed on baby hamster kidney cell line BHK-21. Aqua-methanolic extract of K. laciniata exhibited significant mutagenicity when exposed to TA- 102 strain with a mutagenic index of 50.66 and 54.74 at maximum dose 150 mg/plate. The extract was also muta- genic to TA-100 strain but to a lesser extent. M.I of n-hexane extract was 12.15 and 15.51 for TA-100 and TA- 102 respectively. n-hexane extract was mutagenic but little difference was observed between results of two strains. Both extracts were found to be cytotoxic with an IC50 of 321.9 and 638.5 µg/mL for aqua-methanolic and n-hexane extracts respectively. On the basis of results it was concluded that aqua-methanolic and n-hexane extracts of K. mutagenic and cytotoxic potential. It is suggested to explore the plant further to evaluate its safety in rodents and other species

Process optimization for enhanced production of cellulases form locally isolated fungal strain by submerged fermentation

Cellulase has myriad applications in various sectors like pharmaceuticals, textile, detergents, animal feed and bioethanol production, etc. The current study focuses on the isolation, screening and optimization of fungal strain through one factor at a time technique for enhanced cellulase production.  In current study sixteen different fungal cultures were isolated and the culture which quantitatively exhibits higher titers of cellulase activity was identified both morphologically and molecularly by 18S rDNA and designated as Aspergillus niger ABT11. Different parameters like fermentation medium, volume, temperature, pH and nutritional components were optimized. The highest CMCase and FPase activities  was achieved in 100ml of M5 medium in the presence of 1% lactose and sodium nitrate at 30 oC, pH5 after 72 hours. The result revealed A. niger can be a potential candidate for scale up studies

Design and Evaluation of Modified Release Bilayer Tablets of Flurbiprofen Projekt i ocena dwuwarstwowych tabletek flurbiprofenu o zmodyfikowanym uwalnianiu

Abstract Objectives. To design and evaluate modified release bilayer tablets of flurbiprofen. Material and Methods. In this study, bilayer modified release (MR) tablets of flurbiprofen were formulated using ethyl cellulose (EC) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in different ratios as release retardant materials using a wet granulation method. In vitro release studies were done in dissolution media of varying pH i.e. pH 1.2, 4.5, 7.0 and 7.5. Results. All tablets exhibited good physical quality with respect to appearance, content uniformity, hardness, weight variation and friability. In vitro dissolution data showed that increasing proportions of EC retarded whereas increasing PVP enhanced the drug release rate. The bilayer MR tablets showed an initial release of approximately 35% (i.e. 100 mg drug) in about 1 h, then sustaining the release for 12 h, ending up with 89.56% and 96.12% for formulation MR1 and MR2, respectively. The kinetic analysis of dissolution data showed that zero order release was observed in these tablets. When data was fitted to the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, a non-Fickian transport was observed with the MR tablets. A model independent approach showed that as the release rate increases, the MDT decreases, showing the retarding behavior of the non-biodegradable polymers employed in formulation development. Conclusions. Bilayer modified release tablets of flurbiprofen can be successfully formulated using ethylcellulose and polyvinylpyrrolidone in different ratios as release retardant materials employing a wet granulation method (Adv Clin Exp Med 2011, 20, 3, 343-349). Key words: ethylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, wet granulation method, non-Fickian release. Streszczenie Cel pracy. Zaprojektowanie i ocena dwuwarstwowych tabletek flurbiprofenu o zmodyfikowanym uwalnianiu. Materiał i metody. W badaniu tym dwuwarstwowe tabletki flurbiprofenu o zmodyfikowanym uwalnianiu (MR) zostały stworzone z użyciem etylocelulozy (EC) i poliwinylopirolidonu (PVP) w różnych proporcjach jako środki opóźniające uwolnienie metodą mokrej granulacji. W badaniach uwalniania in vitro użyto środków rozpuszczają-cych o różnym pH, tj. pH 1,2; 4,5; 7,0 i 7,5. Wyniki. Wszystkie tabletki miały dobre fizyczne właściwości w odniesieniu do wyglądu, jednolitości zawartości, twardości, wahań wagi i kruszenia. W badaniach in vitro wykazano, że zwiększenie zawartości EC spowalniało, a zwiększenie zawartości PVP przyspieszało tempo uwalniania leku. Dwuwarstwowe tabletki MR wykazały począt-kowo uwalnianie ok. 35% (tj. 100 mg leku) w ciągu około 1 godz., a następnie utrzymanie rozpuszczenia przez 12 godz., kończąc na 89,56 i 96,12% dla preparatów MR1 i MR2. Analiza kinetyczna danych na temat rozpuszczania pokazała, że w tych tabletkach wystąpiło uwalnianie rzędu zerowego. Gdy dane dopasowano do modelu Korsmeyera-Peppasa, obserwowano transport masy tabletek MR niezgodny z prawem Ficka. Niezależne podejście wykazało, że w miarę wzrostu szybkości uwalniania, MDT zmniejsza się, co pokazuje opóźniające działanie nieulegających biodegradacji polimerów stosowanych w produkcji preparatu. Wnioski. Dwuwarstwowe tabletki o zmodyfikowanym uwalnianiu flurbiprofenu z powodzeniem można produkować, stosując etylocelulozę i poliwinylopirolidon w różnych proporcjach jako środki opóźniające uwolnienie metodą mokrej granulacji Słowa kluczowe: etyloceluloza, poliwinylopirolidon, metoda mokrej granulacji, uwalnianie niezgodne z prawem Ficka

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE AND ANTIPYRETIC POTENTIAL OF TERMINALIA CITRINA FRUIT EXTRACTS

Background: Plants and herbs have long been used as remedies without scientific evidences. The objective of the present study was to explore the anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and antipyretic potential of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Terminalia citrina fruits in mice. Materials and Methods: Extracts of Terminalia citrina fruits were evaluated at doses of 200mg/kg, 400mg/kg and 600mg/kg in albino mice for preventive effect in inflammatory edema, peripheral pain sensation and pyrexia. Carrageenan induced paw edema method was utilized to evaluate anti-inflammatory activity. Analgesic appraisal of extracts was demonstrated using acetic acid induced writhing model of pain. Antipyretic potential was determined by brewer’s yeast induced pyrexia model. Statistical analysis was conducted by ANOVA following post hoc test. Results: Both extracts exhibited significant and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities. The ethanolic extract was more effective in reducing inflammatory edema, pyrexia and pain sensation than aqueous extracts in all tested doses. Conclusion: It can be concluded that fruit extracts of Terminalia citrina may be effective in reducing inflammation, pyrexia and pain sensation in animals