RNA Silencing and its Inhibition in transgenic Tobacco Plants

Siirretty Doriast

Role and immunomodulatory profile of histamine receptors by H1 and H2 antagonists

The present study was designed to delineate the immunomodulatory role of histamine receptors (H1- and H2-) on induction of antibody response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), as well as the antibody generation profile, in rabbit system, systemically. The rabbits in two groups received pheniramine (H1-receptor antagonist) and ranitidine (H2-receptor antagonist), respectively, via intramuscular route and were immunized with SRBC intravenously to evaluate suppression or enhancement of antibody responses in sem. A third, control group, received vehicle and were immunized in a similar manner. Histamine released from effector cells (mast cells and basophils) _in vivo_ during inflammatory reactions could influence a detectable antibody response to SRBC as early as day 7-postimmunization (post-I), which lasted until day 28- post-I. Pheniramine-treated rabbits had significantly (*Pa ≤ 0.05 and **Pa ≤ 0.01) more suppressed total serum antibody (IgM + IgG) to SRBC as compared to ranitidine-treated ad cotrol rabbits, while ranitidine-treated rabbits showed different pattern (suppressed or enhanced) during the whole study period. Ranitidine suppressed total antibody level at days 7- and 14- post-I, and enhanced at days 21- and 28- post-I. IgM suppression at day 7- and enhancement at days 14-, 21- and 28- post-I, while IgG suppression during whole study period, as compared to control group was significant (*Pa ≤ 0.05 and **Pa ≤ 0.01) as assessed by direct hemagglutination assay* ad whole SBC-ELISA method**. Here we report that histamine receptor type 2 (H2R)-antagonists have a dominant role on immunosuppression and in immunoregulation of humoral immune responses. Histamine receptor type 2 (H2R)-antagonists are mainly involved in B cell differentiation and proliferation over histamine receptor type 1 (H1R)-antagonists

Spectrum of Hodgkin\u27s disease in children and adults: impact of combined morphologic and phenotypic approach for exclusion of look-alikes

Objective: To determine the prevalence of Hodgkin’s disease (HD) and its various subtypes in children and adults and assess the use of immunohistochemical (IHC) studies in confirming HD cases and excluding its close mimicries/look-alikes. Material and Methods: All 265 Hodgkin’s disease cases diagnosed at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi over the last 6 years (July 1991 - July 1997) were included. Of these 219 were diagnosed on routine H&E examination while in the remaining 46 cases, diagnosis was made after a thorough IHC workup. (This group initially included 161 cases labelled as lymphoproliferative disorder with HD as one of the differentials). Results: Out of a total of 265 HD cases (206) 78% were males and (59) 22%were females in a ratio of 3.5:1. 26%(69) cases were \u3c15 years while 74% (196) were \u3e15 years old. In both age groups, the commonest subtype proved to be Mixed Cellularity (MC) (60% of \u3c15 years old and 40% of \u3e15 years old) followed by Nodular Scierosing (NS) (20% of \u3c15 years old and 27% of \u3e15 years old). Lymphocyte Predominant (LP) and Lymphocyte Depleted (LD) were seen less frequently.With the help of IHC studies performed on 161 cases in which HD was part of the differential diagnosis,46 were conclusively diagnosed as HD. In the rest of the cases the main differential was Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) that accounted for 72 of the cases. Conclusion: This study shows that the most common sub-type of HD in our series in MC followed by NS. This study also suggests reasons why the more aggressive sub-type MC is predominant in Third world countries like ours compared to the better prognostic NS seen more in developed countries and why LP and LD are less and less commonly diagnosed

Big data analytics in public sector university libraries in Pakistan

This study examines librarians\u27 perceptions, capabilities, and understandings of Big Data analytics in public sector university libraries in Karachi, Pakistan. To acquire the desired results, a survey was conducted and using a quantitative approach. The study\u27s target audience was library administrators at public sector university libraries in Karachi, all of which are recognized by Pakistan\u27s Higher Education Commission and chartered by the Sindh Government. All respondents were sent an e-mail inviting them to participate in the survey on their own time. This study is important because it fills a large vacuum in the literature about the perspectives of Karachi\u27s public sector university librarians on Big Data analytics. The result shows that most of the academic librarians are familiar with the concept of big data and thought that they need to develop their skills for the use of big data analytics tools and the government should also provide a sufficient budget for the professional development of the library staff

Consumer's Attitude towards Green Supply Chain Practices and its impact on their Intentions to Buy at Fast Food Restaurants in Bahawalpur, Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to find the impact of consumer perception on green supply chain practices in fast food places in South Punjab, Pakistan. Green supply chain practices focus on assimilating environmental thinking into the conventional supply chain, including areas like product design, material sourcing and selection, manufacturing processes, delivery of the final product as well as end-of-life management of the product after its useful life. To put it simply, green supply chain practices deal in creating an environmentally friendly supply chain that will result in an organization that not only sustains itself, but also the environment around it. This research work was conducted in South Punjab, Pakistan to see whether or not people perceived green supply chain practices important and whether that would affect their decision to dine at a certain place. To serve the purpose of the research, the data was acquired from the general population of South Punjab. The respondents included students from intermediate, people who held jobs, housewives etc. with a sample of 260 chosen randomly. The overall findings state that consumer perception is significantly affected by green supply chain practices in the fast food industry. The research is limited due to the time constraints, financial constraints and limited availability of the data. The results of this research study may not generalize to other province of the Pakistan as the study is conducted only in the context of South Punjab

A decade of cardiothoracic surgery at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: The medical records at Aga Khan University were reviewed to analyze the trends, mortality and patients characteristics of cardiothoracic surgeries in the last decade.METHOD: The medical records of all adult cardiac, thoracic and combined cardiothoracic operations performed during January 1995 to December 2004 at the Aga Khan University Hospital were reviewed. Data were retrieved and analyzed for trends, patient characteristics, and procedure mortality.Results: From January 1995 - December 2004, 4553 cases were eligible for the study, of which 73% were males and 9.4% were children. Male to female ratio changed from 1.3:1 to 3:1 from childhood to adulthood. Number of patients requiring cardiothoracic intervention increased continuously throughout the period, cardiac operations outnumbering thoracic or combined procedures. Ten-year average annual mortality remained 4.8% with slight variation per annum. Age distribution of cardiac surgery patients remained the same, however, constantly increasing number of over-70-year olds was observed. Mortality for isolated CABG, isolated valve and CABG with valve remained 1.9%, 4.3% and 18.3% respectively.CONCLUSION: Trends of cardiothoracic procedures appear similar to those in the developed countries, so are the mortality figures

EFFECT OF ZANJABĪL (ZINGIBER OFFICINALE) IN NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE- A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a reversible condition of the liver, wherein large vacuoles of triglyceride fat accumulates in liver cells via the process of steatosis, despite any evidence of excessive alcohol consumption. In view of present scenario of high prevalence and limited treatment options, this study was conducted to assess the effect of Murabba-i- Zanjabīl in NAFLD. Present study was designed as a randomized placebo controlled trial with 30 patients in test group and 10 patients in control group. Participants in test group were administered with Murabba-i- Zanjabīl, 5 gm twice daily, 30 minutes before food for 45 days and those in control group were given 1 capsule of 500 mg each containing wheat flour twice daily, 30 minutes before food for 45 days. All the participants were asked to follow up at every 15 days for assessment of subjective parameters. Objective parameter was assessed before and after the trial period. On statistical analysis the test formulation showed significant reduction in scores (p<0.05) for most of the parameters on both inter and intra group analysis, while the reduction in control group was not found to be statistically significant (p.0.05). This study lays out that Murabbā-i Zanjabīl in a dose of 5gm twice daily given for 45 days is more effective than placebo in treating NAFLD. There was no adverse effect reported during the trial. It was thus concluded that Murabbā-i Zanjabīl is effective and safe in therapeutic management of NAFLD

R S S The Relationship Between Reward Management System and Turnover Intention: Mediating Role of Motivation HUMERA SHAHID FAIQ MAHMOOD

Abstrac

Evaluation of quality and patient satisfaction during endoscopic procedure: a cross sectional study from south Asian country

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic procedures and patient satisfaction in endoscopy suite of South Asian country. METHODS: Patients coming to the endoscopic suite of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) were interviewed and assessed in this cross-sectional study. Quality of GI endoscopic procedures was evaluated using assessment tools as suggested by The American Society of Gastroenterology. Patient satisfaction after the procedure was assessed using a modified GHAA-9 questionnaire. The questionnaire was statistically evaluated using Pareto analysis and Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS: In this study, 323 patients were evaluated with a mean age of 43 +/- 14.36 years. Out of all the procedures 251 (77.7%) were gastroscopies while 72 (22.3%) were colonoscopies. Patients undergoing different therapeautic procedures were 121 in number (37.46%). Pre-procedure education was rated as excellent or very good by 91.3% of the patients. Midazolam was used for sedation with an average dose of 3 mg. Technically successful procedures included 99.2% gastroscopies and 98.6% colonoscopies. Mean score of patients regarding satisfaction on mGHAA-9 questionnaire was 30 +/- 3.965. Patient dissatisfaction calculated in our study was 3.6% with the length of time spent waiting before procedure and length of time waiting to get an appointment for the procedure contributing to 90% of dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of endoscopic procedures at our centre is at par with international standards with acceptable complication rate and good patient satisfaction

The Cost of Unserved Energy: Evidence from Selected Industrial Cities of Pakistan

This study is an attempt to explore the cost of unserved energy due to power outages in Pakistan that started in 2007. The study is based on a survey conducted for four major industrial cities of Punjab—Gujrat, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Sialkot. In addition to quantification of output losses, the effect on employment, cost of production, and delay in supply orders are also examined. The output loss is quantified using two-dimensional analyses, controlling for variations in the duration of outages and in the shift hours. The survey data reveal that employment has not suffered any significant drop due to alternative energy arrangements. These arrangements, nevertheless, have increased the production cost of the firms. Delays in the delivery of supply orders are also due to energy shortage. The study reports that the total industrial output loss varies between 12 percent and 37 percent, with Punjab as the major affected province.Energy Crises, Output Loss, Pakistan