Health and Nutrional Economic Growth in Pakistan: A Systematic Review

In this short report I want to explain about the economic growth in Pakistan Here I explain the health and nutritional economic growth in Pakistan almost last ten years Government of Pakistan made different policies for the development of nation These policies include health policies medical treatment HIV control programmes etc These all policies helps for the prosperity of Pakista

Hyponatremia among Critically Ill Children Admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

Background: Hyponatremia in critically ill children can lead to significant increase in morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis followed by proper treatment can help decrease adverse events in such cases. This study was conducted to ascertain the magnitude of problem in our local population. Objective: To determine the frequency of hyponatremia among children admitted in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).  Material and Methods: These study cases were registered from Department of Pediatrics, Nishtar Hospital, Multan which were admitted to Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Duration of the study was 6 months from January 2017 to June 2017. Once registered in the study, three milliliters (ml) of venous blood sample was drawn. This blood sample was sent to laboratory for serum sodium level estimation. Confidentiality of the patient record was maintained.  Child was considered hyponatremic, if serum sodium (Na+) levels are <135 mEq/L and malnourished if weight for height/length less than -3 SD (Less than 70% of expected). All the data was entered and analyzed using SPSS-20 and mean and standard deviation for disease duration, serum sodium levels and the age of the patients were taken. Results; Of these 135 study cases, 79 (58.5%) were boys while 56 (41.5%) were girls. Mean age of our study cases was 4.31 ± 2.29 years. Multiorgan dysfunction was major cause of admission to PICU i.e. 36 (26.7%), pneumonia in 28 (20.7%), trauma in 28 (20.7%), cardiovascular diseases in 18 (13.3%), complicated gastroenteritis in 16 (11.9%) and viral bronchiolitis in 9 (6.7%). Mean disease duration was 8.16 ± 4.62 days. Of these 135 study cases, 38 (28.1%) were malnourished and 92 (68.1%) had history of hypotonic IV fluid therapy. Mean stay at PICU was 6.92 ± 4.11 days. Mean Serum Sodium level was 134.46 ± 3.23 mEq/L (with minimum serum sodium level was 130 mEq/L while maximum level was 140 mEq/L). Hyponatremia was noted in 61 (45.2%) of our study cases. Conclusion: Frequency of hyponatremia was high in our study which was significantly associated with gender, disease duration, cause of admission, nutritional status and use of hypotonic IV fluid therapy. Hyponatremia was significantly associated with prolonged duration of hospitalization in pediatric intensive care unit which exerts extra burden on hospital authorities. Timely diagnosis and correction of hyponatremia can lead to decrease disease morbidity and duration of hospitalization. Keywords: Hyponatremia, pediatric intensive care unit, frequency

Frequency of Hypoglycemia During Insulin Tolerance Test in Children with Suspected Growth Hormone Deficiency

OBJECTIVE:To determine the frequency of hypoglycemia during insulin tolerance test in children with suspected growth hormone deficiency. Material and Methods: A total of 62 short stature children suspected of growth hormone deficiency were enrolled from department of pediatric medicine, Nishtar Hospital, Multan using non-probability consecutive sampling technique. Total duration was 1 year from May 2016 to May 2017. These children underwent insulin tolerance test and were examined for the development of hypoglycemia at different time intervals. All the data were recorded on the proforma. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS-18. Results: Of these 62 study cases, 36 (58.1%) were boys and 26 (41.9%) were girls. Mean age of our study cases was 8.94 + 2.81 (Minimum age was 4 years while maximum age was 13 years) and majority of study cases i.e. 37 (59.7%) belonged to age group of 4 – 9 years of age. Mean height of our study cases was 107. 81 + 12.67 centimeters (Minimum height 80 cm while maximum height was 130 cm), majority of study cases i.e. 53 (85.5%) of our study cases had height in the range of 80 – 120 cm. Mean weight of the study cases was 17.00 + 5.66 kilograms (Minimum weight was 6 Kg while maximum weight was 35 Kg), majority of our study cases i.e. 51 (82.3%) were having weight in the range of 6-20 Kg. Mean values for baseline blood glucose level were 92.27 + 10.99 mg/dl (Minimum baseline blood glucose level was 55 mg/dl while maximum value was 111 mg/dl). Mean first blood glucose level after 30 minutes of administration of Insulin was 46.56 + 14.07 mg/dl, after 45 minutes was 47.26 + 9.45 mg/dl, after 60 minutes was 61.35 + 17.63 mg/dl, after 90 minutes was 69.44 + 16.17 mg/dl, after 120 minutes was 79.65 + 12.18 mg/dl. Hypoglycemia was seen in 49 (79%) of our study cases (Table-6). Growth hormone deficiency was observed in 39 (62.90%), 23 (37.10 %) were normal cases. Conclusion: Insulin tolerance test (ITT) is safe and reliable test, if being performed in compliance with standard protocols under appropriate supervision of trained healthcare professionals for proper monitoring of side effects. The test should only be performed in the centers having well trained and qualified staff and proper equipment to treat any possible side effect. Keywords:Hypoglycemia, Growth hormone deficiency, Short stature

Hepatoprotective Effects of Silybum marianum

Oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and transaminase reactions are some of the mechanisms that can lead to liver dysfunction. A time-dependent study was designed to evaluate the ability of silymarin (SLN) and glycyrrhizin (GLN) in different dosage regimens to lessen oxidative stress in the rats with hepatic injury caused by the hepatotoxin carbon tetrachloride. Wistar male albino rats (n = 60) were randomly assigned to six groups. Group A served as a positive control while groups B, C, D, E, and F received a dose of CCl4 (50% solution of CCl4 in liquid paraffin, 2 mL/kg, intraperitoneally) twice a week to induce hepatic injury. Additionally, the animals received SLN and GLN in different doses for a period of six weeks. CCl4 was found to induce hepatic injury by significantly increasing serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances while decreasing total protein and the activities of reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. Treatment with various doses of SLN and GLN significantly reduced ALT, AST, ALP, and TBARS levels and increased GSH, SOD, and CAT levels. Our findings indicated that SLN and GLN have hepatoprotective effects against oxidative stress of the liver

Decellularized Human Umbilical Tissue-Derived Hydrogels Promote Proliferation and Chondrogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Tissue engineering is a promising approach for the repair and regeneration of cartilaginous tissue. Appropriate three-dimensional scaffolding materials that mimic cartilage are ideal for the repair of chondral defects. The emerging decellularized tissue-based scaffolds have the potential to provide essential biochemical signals and structural integrity, which mimics the natural tissue environment and directs cellular fate. Umbilical cord-derived hydrogels function as 3D scaffolding material, which support adherence, proliferation, migration, and differentiation of cells due to their similar biochemical composition to cartilage. Therefore, the present study aimed to establish a protocol for the formulation of a hydrogel from decellularized human umbilical cord (DUC) tissue, and assess its application in the proliferation and differentiation of UC-MSCs along chondrogenic lineage. The results showed that the umbilical cord was efficiently decellularized. Subsequently, DUC hydrogel was prepared, and in vitro chondral differentiation of MSCs seeded on the scaffold was determined. The developed protocol efficiently removed the cellular and nuclear content while retaining the extracellular matrix (ECM). DUC tissue, pre-gel, and hydrogels were evaluated by FTIR spectroscopy, which confirmed the gelation from pre-gel to hydrogel. SEM analysis revealed the fibril morphology and porosity of the DUC hydrogel. Calcein AM and Alamar blue assays confirmed the MSC survival, attachment, and proliferation in the DUC hydrogels. Following seeding of UC-MSCs in the hydrogels, they were cultured in stromal or chondrogenic media for 28 days, and the expression of chondrogenic marker genes including TGF-β1, BMP2, SOX-9, SIX-1, GDF-5, and AGGRECAN was significantly increased (* p ≤ 0.05, ** p ≤ 0.01, *** p ≤ 0.001). Moreover, the hydrogel concentration was found to significantly affect the expression of chondrogenic marker genes. The overall results indicate that the DUC-hydrogel is compatible with MSCs and supports their chondrogenic differentiation in vitro

DIVERISTY and enzymatic potential of indigenous bacteria from unexplored contaminted soils in Faisalabad

Bacteria residing in contaminated waste soil degrade and utilize organic and inorganic material as a source of nutrients as well as reduce environmental contamination through their enzymatic machinery. This enzymatic potential of indigenous bacteria can be exploited at industrial level through detailed screening, characterization, optimization and purification. In present study, diversity and enzymatic potential of indigenous bacteria was investigated through qualitative and quantitative screening methods from unexplored contaminated soil waste sites in Faisalabad. Shannon diversity (H’) index revealed that twenty-eight soil samples from four contaminated sites were highly diverse of amylase, protease and lipase producing bacteria. Maximum protease producing bacteria were detected in fruit waste (1.929 × 107), whereas amylase and lipase producing bacteria were found in industrial (1.475 × 107) and (5.38 × 106), in household waste soil samples. Most of the indigenous bacterial isolates showed potential for multiple enzymes. An isolate OC5 exhibited capability for amylase production and optimization at a wider range of cultural conditions; pH (6–8), temperature (25 °C, 37 °C, 45 °C), incubation time (24–72 h), and NaCl concentrations 0.5–13%, using (1%) starch and lactose as substrates. An isolate OC5 was identified by molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis showed 99% sequence similarity with Bacillus spp. ANOVA was used to analyzed all data statistically. This study enhances the importance of initial screening and reporting of industrially potent indigenous bacteria from unexplored contaminated waste soils. In future, indigenous bacteria in contaminated wastes may be good candidates to solve various environmental pollution problems

Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Suboptimal Food Using Behavioral Reasoning Theory: A Food Waste Reduction Strategy

Food waste has attained considerable attention globally during the last decade, owing to its environmental and social impacts. Consumers’ low preference to purchase edible fruits and vegetables with unusual appearance, discoloration, etc., technically referred to as suboptimal food, significantly contributes to food waste. Consumers are more likely to reject suboptimal food while purchasing food, resulting in unnecessary food waste. However, consumers’ perceptions of whether or not to purchase suboptimal food are still unidentified. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the factors influencing as motivators (reason for) and barriers (reason against) in explaining the consumers’ purchase intention toward suboptimal food using Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT). This study conducts a questionnaire survey from 650 consumers using a purposive sampling method. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the data. The findings support the proposed theoretical framework and confirm its robustness in exploring the factors influencing the consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. The findings suggest that the factors including values, reason for (environmental concern and price consciousness), reason against (quality inferior and unappealing appearance), and attitude have direct and indirect influence on consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. Based on the results, the study highlights several insights for policymakers, marketers, business professionals, and practitioners to promote suboptimal food in order to reduce food waste

Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Suboptimal Food Using Behavioral Reasoning Theory: A Food Waste Reduction Strategy

Food waste has attained considerable attention globally during the last decade, owing to its environmental and social impacts. Consumers’ low preference to purchase edible fruits and vegetables with unusual appearance, discoloration, etc., technically referred to as suboptimal food, significantly contributes to food waste. Consumers are more likely to reject suboptimal food while purchasing food, resulting in unnecessary food waste. However, consumers’ perceptions of whether or not to purchase suboptimal food are still unidentified. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the factors influencing as motivators (reason for) and barriers (reason against) in explaining the consumers’ purchase intention toward suboptimal food using Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT). This study conducts a questionnaire survey from 650 consumers using a purposive sampling method. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the data. The findings support the proposed theoretical framework and confirm its robustness in exploring the factors influencing the consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. The findings suggest that the factors including values, reason for (environmental concern and price consciousness), reason against (quality inferior and unappealing appearance), and attitude have direct and indirect influence on consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. Based on the results, the study highlights several insights for policymakers, marketers, business professionals, and practitioners to promote suboptimal food in order to reduce food waste