Association of hypoadiponectemia with smokeless/dipping tobacco use in young men

Background: Low levels of adiponectin, an adipocytokine with anti-diabetic, antiatherogenic and cardioprotective properties, is associated with increased risk of coronary disease in young men. Previous studies have demonstrated that smokeless tobacco is linked with a reduction of plasma adiponectin levels. However, the influence of smokeless tobacco (dipping tobacco) on plasma adiponectin levels still remains unknown. This study was conducted to assess the plasma adiponectin levels in young men who were using dipping tobacco. Methods: This was a community based study, which consisted of 186 young lean healthy males aged 20 to 35 years. Among these, 96 men were dipping tobacco users (BMI = 23.07 ± 2.68) and 90 were non-dipping tobacco users (BMI = 23.67 ± 1.46). Serum adiponectin levels were assessed by Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). Results: A statistically significant difference in the mean adiponectin level between tobacco dipper and non-dipper groups was observed (p = 0.0001). A significant difference between the two groups was also observed in baseline parameters including triglyceride and random blood sugar levels (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups in other clinical parameters. Conclusions: Findings of this study suggest that dipping tobacco use was significantly associated with low level of adiponetin in community dwelling young males. This emphasizes the importance of developing community intervention to reduce the use of dipping tobacco, which will reduce the tobacco associated disease burden in the community and will improve public health

Complex Pyogenic Liver Abscess: Outcome of Open vs Laparoscopic Drainage

OBJECTIVES Our study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic drainage as a management of complex pyogenic liver abscesses in comparison to open surgical drainage. METHODOLOGY The comparative research design was used to compare the outcomes, complications, perioperative morbidity, mortality, and potential recurrence of 60 patients with a complex pyogenic liver abscess who were hospitalized at the General Surgery Department of Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar and treated either laparoscopically or openly from January 2019 to December 2020. 30 patients had open drainage management, while 30 patients received laparoscopic drainage management. For all patients, pus was examined for culture sensitivity. Patients with a small, solitary and unilocular pyogenic liver abscess that improved with antibiotic therapy and or/and percutaneous drainage were excluded. Each patient had a thorough clinical evaluation, lab tests, ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis and abdomen. RESULTS All patients underwent abdominal ultrasonography & sonographic diagnosis was made in 43(71.7%), followed by a computed tomography scan (CT) in 12(20%) & magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnosis was made in 5(8.3%) patients respectively. Diabetes mellitus was present in 15(25%) patients, severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 10(16.7%) and severe anemia in 9(15%) patients. All individuals associated with co-morbidity were considered high-risk patients. CONCLUSION Laparoscopic drainage of liver abscess has a shorter surgical time, lower morbidity rate, and shorter hospital stay as compared to open surgical drainage

Comparative study on several type of turbulence model available in ANSYS-fluent software for ONERA M6 wing aerodynamic analysis

ONERA M6 wing model is definitive computational fluid dynamic (CFD) validation case for aerodynamic investigations. Therefore, such investigation on aerodynamic characteristics is conducted with commercial CFD software known as ANSYS-Fluent software. The advantages of this software beside offer various flow solvers, this software also provides a various type of Turbulence Models can be implemented. In the present works, an investigation on capabilities of turbulence models available in the ANSYS-Fluent software based on Boussinesq hypothesis had been studied. The investigation had used five type Turbulence Models for evaluating the aerodynamic characteristics of the ONERA M6 wing model. These five turbulent models are: (1) Spalart-Allmaras, (2) k-ε Standard, (3) k-ε Realizable, (4) k-ω Standard and (5) k-ω SST turbulence models. The flow analysis are carried at two different angle of attacks namely at α = 3.060 and α = 6.060. These two angle of attacks correspond with Mach numbe

Incivility, Role-Conflict, and Emotional Exhaustion in Teaching Profession: The Moderating Role of Gender

This study examined the effect of incivility and role conflict on emotional exhaustion of teaching staff. Incivility was determined in terms of discouretous and neglecting behavior of family memebrs at home while immediate supervisors at workplace. Role-conflict refers to the interferences of family members during office hours. The study further examined the moderating role of gender in each proposed effect. For empirical analysis, primary data were collected from regular teachers of public sector universities of AJ&K through mailed questionnaires. To examine the proposed direct effects, Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied in AMOS 24. Feasible measurement model was identified and selected with the help of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The study further applied PROCESS macro of Hayes (2013) in SPSS 24 to examine the moderating role of gender. The results show a positive effect of family incivility, family-workplace conflict, and supervisors’ incivility on emotional exhaustion of respondents. Interestingly, the moderating role of gender was not observed for all three cases. On the basis of these findings, different policy implications were presented and discussed.&nbsp

Dermatology life quality index in psoriasis patients attending a tertiary care hospital: a study from North India

Background: Psoriasis affects nearly 1% of the world population. It can be a source of significant morbidity and psychological stress to the patient but is not lethal under ordinary circumstances. Patients suffering from the disease feel a lack of empathy on part of care-givers, family members, healthcare professionals as well as society in general. Dermatology life quality index (DLQI) is a questionnaire-based assessment of health related quality of life in patients suffering from skin disorders and has been seen to correlate well with the impact of the disease on a patient. This study was done to understand the impact of psoriasis on the overall well-being of patients using DLQI as the tool of assessment.Methods: The study included 40 cases of psoriasis that were assessed for the severity of the disease based on percentage body surface area involvement. The impact of disease severity and other factors on the quality of life of the patient was assessed using DLQI.Results: Out of 35 patients with BSA involvement 50% (severe and very severe disease) reported the same. A small, moderate or no effect on the DLQI was seen in 71.4% (n=25/35) of cases from the mild and moderate disease group while 100% (n=5/5) of cases from severe and very severe disease group reported a similar effect. Thus, DLQI was not directly related to the extent of BSA involvement and was dependent on other factors as well.Conclusion: Age had a correlation with the effect of the disease on the quality of life of psoriasis cases. Patients who were younger were more likely to report stress and anxiety related to the recurrences seen with the disease. Patients with lesions on sites that are socially exposed like face, hands, scalp, etc. were more likely to feel embarrassed about their condition. Younger age, female gender, lesions on exposed sites and recently diagnosed patients (<12 months) were factors which had a significant impact on the health-related quality of life of patients. The severity of disease and extent of involvement were not always directly related to extent of impact on the quality of life

Tuberculosis of the scapula

Tuberculosis (TB) of the scapula is an extremely rare presentation of osteoarticular tuberculosis. In a tuberculosis endemic setting with a rising burden of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, this rare presentation may become more frequent. The common presentation is with longstanding Complaints of pain and swelling in the shoulder region, typically in young adults. Classic radiographic features include a well defined radiolucent lesion with minimal sequesteration. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is usually elevated and initially these patients are frequently mis-diagnosed and thus a high index of clinical suspicion is required. Medical therapy with antituberculous drugs is the standard modality of treatment. This case serves to higlight the salient features of scapular TB

ATTITUDE TOWARDS FEMALE STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND COMPETITIVE SPORTS IN DEGREE GIRLS COLLEGES

Sports are generally opted either for the sake of recreation or for thecompetition or for achieving both the purposes at the same time. Competitivesports are played from amateur level of university competitions to theprofessional levels of regional, provisional, national and internationalcompetitions. The data was collected through Questionnaire that is “Attitudetowards female Students participation in Physical Education and Competitivesports (ATFSPPECS)”; the sample of study is comprised of 239 subjects,Female students of Government Girls Degree Colleges Hyderabad B.Sc.,B.Com, B.Cs, BA-I,II (N=180), Female Sports Directress(N=09),Parents(N=50). When laying out the plan or set of strategies for attractinggirls towards taking a part in sports or physical activities regularly, whatshould be kept in the mind is that the problem does not lie in the gender of theparticipant, lesser resources and deficient training and practicingopportunities are the real problems. The activities are not constructedappropriately and are not taught in the proper way and this is one of the bigproblems as well

Recent Advances in Minimally Invasive General Surgery A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVESTo evaluate the outcomes of minimally invasive general surgery (MIGS) and determine the indications for MIGS and its success rate. METHODS This retrospective study was conducted at the surgery unit of Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) Hospital, Peshawar, from January 2021 to December 2022. All the 200 patients who underwent MIGS were included in the study. Data regarding demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, type of MIGS, and intraoperative and postoperative complications were collected from the medical records and analyzed. The outcome of the study was assessed based on the success rate of the MIGS procedure and the occurrence of any postoperative complications. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 43.3 years (range 10–75 years). The most common indication for MIGS was cholecystectomy (33.5%). Other indications included appendectomy (17.5%), hernia repair (12%), small bowel resection (10%), and gastrectomy (7%). The overall success rate of MIGS was 97.5%. The most common postoperative complication was wound infection (6.5%). There were no deaths due to MIGS. CONCLUSION The study findings suggest that MIGS is a safe and effective procedure for managing various surgical diseases and can be performed with minimal morbidity and mortality. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of MIGS in different settings

Evolution of Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase encoding transcripts in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Background: Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC; EC 4.1.1.31) is an important enzyme encoded by a gene family of at least 2-8 plant type and 1-2 bacterial type genes depending upon genome size or species complexity. This enzyme functions as catalyst for the β-carboxylation of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to form oxaloacetate in cytoplasm. It is involved in carbon fixation and various other plant metabolic pathways.Methods: In this study we characterized the evolutionary perspective of PPC transcripts and their abundance pattern in different plant tissues of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).Results: The current study revealed that PEPC enzyme in chickpea is encoded by a gene family of at least 6 transcripts. All active site residues of C3 PEPCs were found in transcripts. Phylogenetic analysis of the amino acid sequences showed two major groups PTPC and BTPC from different ancestral lineages. Divergence of PTPC in two groups and further convergence within species was found in most of the plants while multiple evolutionary divergences was likely to be specific in legumes including chickpea.Conclusion: CaPPC genes are regulated under various abiotic stress. Furthermore, the expression pattern of the identified genes can be helpful to explore plant metabolism of chickpea under abiotic stresses, which can be the next step to explore more into this gene family in chickpea.Keywords: Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase transcripts; Chickpea; Phylogen