Low prevalence of asthma among textile workers in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To determine the prevalence of asthma in textile workers through post-bronchodilator spirometry and to compare the differences in prevalence based on different criteria used to assess asthma.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted between July and December 2013 in Karachi, Pakistan, and comprised workers from15 textile mills in the city and its outskirts. Asthma and associated respiratory symptoms were assessed using the American Thoracic Society Division of Lung Diseases Questionnaire, and post-bronchodilator spirometry. SPSS 19 was used for statistical analysis.Results: Among the 372 workers in the study, asthma was found in 19(5%) as diagnosed on post-bronchodilator spirometry. The prevalence of self-reported and physician-diagnosed asthma was 15(4%) and 8(2%) respectively. Work in the spinning section, age ≥38 years, duration of work ≥10 years in textile industry, history of smoking, and ≥10 pack years of smoking were found to be important predictors of asthma.Conclusions: Textile industry workers had low prevalence of asthma, assessed through post-bronchodilator spirometry, compared to estimates for the general population. This could possibly be due to some protective effect of endotoxin exposure although further evaluation with better exposure assessment is warranted

Nephroprotective action of Peucedanum grande against cadmium chloride induced renal toxicity in Wistar rats

Cadmium is a known industrial pollutant which accumulates in the kidney and its exposure leads to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The present study was carried out to evaluate the protective effects of Peucedanum grande against CdCl2 induced renal toxicity in Wistar rats. Wistar rats were subjected to oral pretreatment of P. grande (60 and 120 mg/kg b.wt) against the renal toxicity induced by administration of CdCl2 (3mg/kg b.wt). Efficacy of P. grande against the renal toxicity was evaluated in terms of biochemical estimation of antioxidant enzyme activities and histopathological changes. P. grande pretreatment prevented deteriorative effects induced by CdCl2 through a protective mechanism that involved reduction of increased oxidative stress as well as by restoration of histopathological changes against CdCl2 administration

Study of thermodynamical geometries of conformal gravity black hole

This work deals with the applications of thermodynamical geometries on conformal gravity black holes (CGBH) consisting of conformal parameters a and k. The stability of black hole (BH) addressed with the aid of small, middle, large and divergency roots, respectively. For this purpose, graphical behavior of heat capacity and temperature versus horizon radius is presented which help us to show the stability conditions. Further, studied the different geometries like Weinhold, Ruppeiner, Geometrothermodynamics (GTD) and Hendi-Panahiyah-Eslam-Momennia (HPEM), and found relationship between divergency of scalar curvature and zeros of heat capacity. As a result, it is noticed that Ruppeiner, HPEM and GTD metric exhibit more important information as compared to Weinhold

Burden of asthma among children in a developing megacity: Childhood asthma study, Pakistan

Objectives: Global burden of childhood asthma has increased in the past few decades, particularly in low-income countries. In Pakistan, there is a lack of community-based epidemiological studies estimating the burden of asthma among children. This study determined the prevalence and predictors of asthma among children 3-17 years of age in Karachi, Pakistan.Methods: A two-stage community-based representative cross-sectional survey was conducted in Karachi from March 2012 to April 2013 comprising 1046 children aged 3-17 years. Of 7500 clusters, 80 were randomly selected, and of these, 15 children per cluster were enrolled randomly. A translated and pre-tested version of International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children questionnaire was administered.Results: The overall prevalence of asthma among study participants was 10.2% (95% CI: 8.4-12.0). Asthma was more likely to occur among boys (adj. OR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.6-4.0), children in the younger age group (3-7 years) (adj. OR: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.7-4.8), those living in households with ill-ventilated kitchens (adj. OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.1), having family history of asthma (adj. OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.3-3.9) and those of the Sindhi ethnicity (adj. OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1-4.4).Conclusion: This study is the first robust evidence regarding asthma among children in Pakistan, reporting a high burden in this group. Family history, male gender, Sindhi ethnicity and ill-ventilated kitchen were identified as important predictors of asthma. Targeted preventive measures and intervention studies are required to better understand and reduce the burden of asthma among children in Pakistan