Survey on the use of synthetic Food Colors in Food Samples procured from different educational institutes of Karachi city

The present study was carried out to find the type of food colors added to various food products especially those vended at or near different educational institutes of Karachi city. Different types of food items were analysed for isolation and identification of the added synthetic food colors. The majority of branded food items contained permitted colors however some foods manufactured locally, contained non-permitted colors. About 11% branded and 44% unbranded food items, respectively, were found with not permitted colors for human consumption. Similarly, 4% branded and 30% unbranded beverages were found unfit due to the presence of prohibited colors. Incidences of the use of non-permitted food colors were higher in case of unorganized food makers. Constant vigilance is needed to ensure that the local manufacturers comply with the regulations of food colors not only in terms of non-permitted food colors but also about the control and limits of permitted food colors. Moreover, consumption of colored food items should also be controlled by making the society aware of the hazardous effects of food colors

Effect of sensory reeducation training on upper limb in sensory brain calcification syndrome; a case report

Brain calcification is a neurodegenerative disease in which calcium deposits in various parts of the brain causing a wide variety of impairments in the affected patient. In the current study, a female patient presented with brain calcification in right parietal region. She has disturbing sensory lag and anosognosia along with changes in other combined cortical sensations. Patient received sensory discrimination training and sensory reeducation training for about 10-15 minutes a day up to 6 weeks. Data was collected at baseline, after 2 and 6 weeks of intervention. Sensory grading scale system was used, and hand mapping was done for tactile localization.Marked improvements were noted in sensory modalities.Thus, it can be concluded that sensory discrimination and sensory reeducation training both are an effective adjunct in treating patients with sensory impairments associated with brain calcifications. Key words: Brain calcification, sensory discriminative training, sensory reeducatio

Response of Callosobruchus chinensis L. to plant extracts and to the parasitoid Anisopteromalus calandrae: Poster

Present investigation was carried out to elucidate the extracts of botanicals i.e., Cichorium intybus, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Trachyspermum ammi and Terminalia chebula, for their possible toxic effect against C. chinensis population. The results revealed that mortality was highest (94.649%) in case of T. ammi treatment, followed by T. chebula with mortality value 56.929%. Mortality was 52.363% where application of C. intybus was carried out. Minimum mortality (34.500%) was observed in G. glabra treated grains. A natural ecto-parasitoid, Anisopteromalus calandrae was used to manage C. chinensis population. A. calandrae male and female adults (5, 10 and 15 pairs) were released to analyze the parasitism efficiency. A. calandrae was reared in the laboratory on C. chinensis larvae. Honey was offered as a suitable food to parasitoid. The parasitism data was recorded after the adult emergence of brunchid beetles. The experiment conducted under Completely Randomized Design and results statistically evaluated using statistical software at 5% level of significance. A. calandrae parasitized both larval and pupal stages of C. chinensis and preferred 4th instar larvae of C. chinensis. Large amount of A. calandrae may efficiently control the C. chinensis population. As compared to control (1558.7 host adult), the minimum host emergence (699.00 host adult) was observed with high population density of A. calandrae. It was also obvious from the results, that mortality was increased with the increase in concentration so, a direct dosemortality response was observed.Present investigation was carried out to elucidate the extracts of botanicals i.e., Cichorium intybus, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Trachyspermum ammi and Terminalia chebula, for their possible toxic effect against C. chinensis population. The results revealed that mortality was highest (94.649%) in case of T. ammi treatment, followed by T. chebula with mortality value 56.929%. Mortality was 52.363% where application of C. intybus was carried out. Minimum mortality (34.500%) was observed in G. glabra treated grains. A natural ecto-parasitoid, Anisopteromalus calandrae was used to manage C. chinensis population. A. calandrae male and female adults (5, 10 and 15 pairs) were released to analyze the parasitism efficiency. A. calandrae was reared in the laboratory on C. chinensis larvae. Honey was offered as a suitable food to parasitoid. The parasitism data was recorded after the adult emergence of brunchid beetles. The experiment conducted under Completely Randomized Design and results statistically evaluated using statistical software at 5% level of significance. A. calandrae parasitized both larval and pupal stages of C. chinensis and preferred 4th instar larvae of C. chinensis. Large amount of A. calandrae may efficiently control the C. chinensis population. As compared to control (1558.7 host adult), the minimum host emergence (699.00 host adult) was observed with high population density of A. calandrae. It was also obvious from the results, that mortality was increased with the increase in concentration so, a direct dosemortality response was observed

Graphical Views of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Double-Controlled Metric-Like Spaces and Certain Fixed-Point Results with Application

In this article, we establish the concept of intuitionistic fuzzy double-controlled metric-like spaces by “assuming that the self-distance may not be zero”; if the value of the metric is zero, then it has to be “a self-distance”. We derive numerous fixed-point results for contraction mappings. In addition, we provide several non-trivial examples with their graphical views and an application of integral equations to show the validity of the proposed results

Dermatological Manifestations of COVID-19: Data from a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan dedicated for COVID-19 Patients

Background: Cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease are poorly characterized around the globe. Data from Pakistan is lacking. Objective: To describe the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease in Pakistani population. Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 virus has rapidly spread reaching the level of a pandemic disease. COVID-19 can affect different organ systems including the skin. There is a wide variety of descriptions of the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19. However, cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease are poorly characterized around the globe. The data from Pakistan is especially lacking. Our study was aimed at describing the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease in Pakistani population. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out at Benazir Bhutto Hospital from March 2020 till December 2020. A total of 150 patients were screened by senior dermatology postgraduate trainees who were deployed for the care of COVID-19 patients. The demographics, rash if any along with its complete history and description and laboratory investigations were noted on a preformed performa. The pictures of the rash were taken after verbal consent of patient or surrogate. The pictures were then discussed with the consultant for appropriate categorization. Results: A total of 150 patients with the diagnosis of COVID-19 were screened. The mean age of the subjects was 51.9 ± 17.2 years. There were 94 (62.7%) males and 56 (37.3%) females. The mean duration of illness at the time of screening was 12.5 ± 9.7 days. Only 7 (4.7%) COVID-19 patients showed skin lesions. These included generalized bullous pemphigoid like (1 patient), urticarial lesions (1 patient), vesicular eruption (1 patient), skin necrosis (1 patient) and maculopapular rash (3 patients). The average duration of illness at the time of dermatological manifestation of COVID-19 was 6.31 ± 2.3 days.  Skin necrosis was associated with severe disease. Conclusion: The skin manifestations of COVID-19 patients in Pakistan are less as compared to reports and data from western world. However, they are in accordance with the data reported from few Asian countries. Regardless of this, the type, distribution and association of skin lesions with COVID-19 appear to be universal. This difference of frequency can be attributed to the racial differences or the variety of COVID-19 viral strains predominant in different countries. However, further studies are required to prove this association.  Key Words: COVID-19, Dermatology, Skin Manifestations, Cutaneous Manifestation

THERAPEUTIC DRUG MONITORING OF BROAD SPECTRUM ANTIFUNGAL, VORICONAZOLE- A REVIEW

Voriconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal drug. It belongs to triazole group, and is available in market as oral as well as intravenous (IV) forms. It is highly effective against a number of clinically important fungi causing invasive infections. Its pharmacokinetic profile is non-linear with extensive inter-individual and intra-individual variability. Various factors contribute towards this variability including age, race, gender, genotype, hepatic functions, administration with or without food, and concomitant administration of other drugs causing drug interactions. Variability in plasma concentrations of the drug, arising from these factors, may result in variations in efficacy of the drug or may contribute towards potential toxicity. Voriconazole therapeutic drug monitoring is mandatory considering bad prognosis of patients suffering from invasive fungal infections, especially ones who are immunosuppressed, and prolonged period of treatment needed, in order to optimize antifungal treatment and to prevent the adverse events.&nbsp

Detection of Human Salivary Amylase Level Deposited on Fruits with First Bite Mark

Background: Human body fluids are vital for criminological examinations. The recovery, conservation, and investigation of body fluids or its stains are critical in measurable forensic cases. The amylase testing is being utilized as a possible test to locate the crime scene saliva stains for more than three decades. This investigation was intended to decide the human salivary amylase accumulated on fruit after the first bite where the level of salivary amylase was concluded by Radial Gel Diffusion method.Methods: Three sorts of organic fruits (apple, peach, and apricot) and 20 people (10 male and 10 female) were chosen for this investigation. The specimens were assembled from bite mark area following time intervals 0 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours and 48 hours.Results: Experimental outcomes demonstrated that the diameter of amylase activity in male specimens was more noteworthy than female. Apples, as well as apricot pit samples, indicated amylase activity till 48 hours; however, the specimens collected from peach demonstrated amylase activity until 12 hours, after first bite mark.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that salivary amylase testing might be valuable for DNA evidence, where DNA investigations for every case might be restricted because of cost issues.Keywords: Amylase; Saliva; Investigation; Bite mark; Preservatio

Polyester Usage in Manufacturing of Electrical and Mechanical Products and Assemblies

This chapter focuses on the processes in which polyester is usually used for the manufacturing of mechanical components and assemblies. Various methods of manufacturing these products are mentioned in this chapter. These methods include wet layup method, filament winding, pultrusion, vacuum bagging and autoclave curing, resin transfer molding (RTM) and vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). Various production levels and properties can be achieved by polyester resin using abovementioned processes. Each process has its own benefits and disadvantages, which are discussed in this chapter. Furthermore, the use of polyester in making electrical insulation is also discussed in the chapter. Advantages and disadvantages of each impregnation technique are also explained