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

Lipoma at Conus Medullaris without Spinal Dysraphism causing Neurological Deficit: A Rare Occurrence

It's uncommon to have an intradural lipoma without spinal dysraphism. The majority are asymptomatic, however, neurological impairments might occur. For the past six months, a 35-year-old man had been experiencing growing weakening in both lower limbs. The L1 intradural space-occupying lesion was detected during a clinical examination and radiological workup. The patient underwent surgery to address a worsening neurological impairment. The patient had fully recovered neurologically after a six-month follow-up. If the neurological damage is progressive, intradural lipomas should be surgically removed. The surgical treatment produces positive results

Association of airborne Aspergillus with asthma exacerbation in Southern Pakistan.

Background: Exposure to airborne fungi has been related with exacerbation of asthma in adults and children leading to increased outpatient, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations. Hypersensitivity to these airborne fungi may be an important initial predisposing factor in the development and exacerbation of asthma. Objective: This study was conducted to determine an association between fungal types and spore concentrations with the risk of asthma exacerbation in adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2008 to August 2009 at the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi, Pakistan. All adult (age≥16 years) patients presenting to the hospital with acute asthma exacerbation were enrolled after informed consent. A home survey was conducted for each patient to assess their environmental characteristics. Indoor air samples were also obtained from the patient’s home to determine the type and spore concentration of fungi within the week of their enrollment in the study. Results: Three hundred and ninety-one patients with an acute asthma exacerbation were enrolled during the study period. The mean age of participants was 46 years (standard deviation, ±18 years) and 247 (63.2%) were females. A trend of higher asthma enrollment associated with higher Aspergillus concentrations was found in two consecutive summers. A total of nineteen types of fungi were found in air samples. Aspergillus spp. was the most frequently isolated fungus with acute asthma exacerbation. Conclusion: An association of higher concentration of indoor Aspergillus spp. with asthma exacerbation in adults was observed in this study

Predictors of Surgical Outcome Following Cerebral Contusion in Severe Head Injuries

Objective:  There are controversies regarding the management of Cerebral Contusion. The study sought to identify parameters influencing the surgical outcome of individuals suffering from a brain contusion. Methods:  A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Hospital Lahore, and 37 patients were included. The information on the mode/mechanism of injury, time of presentation, clinical presentation, and contusion type/location was collected. GCS (at 1st, 2nd and 6th weeks) and GOS were used for the neurological assessment of pre-operative and post-operative status. Results:  The average age of presentation was 42.57 years. There were 21.6% female and 78.4% male patients. 64.9% presented with road traffic accidents. 4% of patients presented to the hospital within 12 hours of injury, 16.2% between 12 to 24 hours, and 5.4% between 24 to 48 hours. 29% had seizures and upgoing plantar. 18% had hemiparesis or hemiplegia. Light reflex was absent in 40.5% of patients. The GCS kept improving postoperatively. GCS at admission was averaging 8 which improved to 10, 12, and 13 after surgery. The presenting mean GCS at 1st-week, 2nd-week, 6th-week, and mean GOS at 30th PAD. Counter coup injury improved to 15/15 right in 1st week. Mean GOS was 5 at 30th PAD. The most improvement was seen in the frontoparietal, temporoparietal, and fronto-temporo-parietal locations. The mean GOS at 30th PAD was 4. Conclusion:  The outcome following cerebral contusion depends upon the initial presenting GCS and GOS. Therefore, the better the presenting GCS and GOS better is the prognosis of the patient

A review of imidacloprid toxicity in coccinellids

Insecticides are the pesticides that are used to deter pests as they affect their nervous system, respiration, growth and by harming their exoskeletons. Meanwhile, they are affecting the non-target natural enemies such as ladybirds that are frequently used in IPM as biological control agents. Insecticides were presumed to be ineffective for Coccinellids earlier, but research studies have shown that these insecticides severely effect physiological and behavioural patterns of natural predators leading them to death. A best-selling insecticide, Imidacloprid: a neurotoxin belonging to neonicotinoid affects the behaviour and performance of natural enemies by effecting their fecundity, egg hatching, developmental time, growth rate, locomotion, survival rate and causing mortality of various Coccinellids including: Hippodamia undecimnotata, Coccinella septempunctata, Harmonia axyridis, Coleomegilla maculata, Hippodamia convergens, Serangium japonicum, Hippodamia variegata, Coccinella novemnotata

Critical Factors Impacting the Implementation of Environmental Protection Strategies among Malaysia Industries

Environmental protection is a heavily debated topic along with development. Uncontrolled development will sacrifice our environmental and causing issues such as pollution, land slide, flash flood, etc. The objective of this study is to understand drivers of the implementation of environmental protection strategy among industries in Malaysia. Questionnaire was designed and tested with 130 Malaysian organizations. The framework consisted of independent variables such as Client’s Requirement, Corporate Social Responsibility, Government Grants and Subsidy versus the dependent variable Environmental Protection Strategy. From the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), it was found out that only client’s requirement and corporate social responsibility are relevant towards implementation of environmental protection strategy. One of the important findings is that government regulation is no longer a mandatory driver for organizations to implement environmental protection strategy. This could be a positive sign that organizations are working the self-regulatory direction than instrumental enforcement. This is in par with department of environment’s latest focus to implement guided self-regulation through environmental mainstreaming tools. The outcome of the study can help the policy makers, regulatory bodies,, and non-government organizations (NGOs) to shape their direction to form strategies that are most effective

Psychological Capital, Social Support and Wellbeing in Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study examined the association between perceived social support, parental psychological capital, and multiple dimensions of mental well-being in mothers of children with autism. Psychological capital was assessed as a mediator in the proposed model. Data were collected from 112 mothers recruited from autism institutes in two cities of Pakistan. Analysis was done using partial least square structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that social support and psychological capital had a significant direct relationship with life satisfaction and perceived stress. Only psychological capital was related to parental satisfaction and negative affect. We found that psychological capital mediated the path between social support and all four dimensions of well-being outcomes. Our study shows that the informal social support enhances the multiple dimension of well-being of mothers of autistic children by enhancing their personality resource of psychological capital

Trackable CEMB-Klean Cotton Transgenic Technology: Affordable Climate Neutral Agri-biotech Industrialization for Developing Countries

Background: Transgenic technology reflects the incorporation of novel useful traits in crop plants like cotton for economic benefits by overcoming the problems including insects’ pests and weeds in special. The present study is the success story of the continuous effort of CEMB team started back in the 1990s.Methods: This study includes characterization of a large number of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains taken from local soil and subjected to direct transformation of isolated BT genes into local cotton cultivars. Protocols for transformation into cotton plants were optimized and validated by the development of double gene codon optimized (Cry1Ac and Cry2A) transgenic cotton varieties.Results: The resulting GMOs in the form of CEMB-33, CA-12, CEMB-66 have been approved by Punjab Seed Council in 2013 and 2016 respectively. Double Bt and weedicide resistant cotton harboring CEMB-Modified and codon optimized cp4EPSPS (GTGene). These varieties can tolerate glyphosate spray @ 1900ml per acre without the appearance of necrotic spots/shedding and complete removal of all surrounding weeds in the cotton field is a significant advance to boost cotton production without spending much on insecticides and herbicides.Conclusion: In the current report, two unique sets of primers which amplify 1.1 Kb for CEMB-double Bt genes and 660 bp product for CEMB-Modified cp4EPSPS (GTGene) were tested. CEMB cotton variety CKC-01 is specially designed as low cost and easy to use by local farmer’s technology has the potential to revolutionize the cotton growing culture of the country.Keywords: Event detection; Bt Cotton; CEMB transgenic technology; GTGen