Cold, anisotropically-interacting van der Waals molecule: TiHe

We have used laser ablation and helium buffer-gas cooling to produce the titanium-helium van der Waals molecule at cryogenic temperatures. The molecules were detected through laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. Ground-state Ti-He binding energies were determined for the ground and first rotationally excited states from studying equilibrium thermodynamic properties, and found to agree well with theoretical calculations based on newly calculated ab initio Ti-He interaction potentials, opening up novel possibilities for studying the formation, dynamics, and non-universal chemistry of van der Waals clusters at low temperatures

Predictors of Non-adherence to iron chelation therapy in pediatric thalassemia patients

Objective: This study was conducted to identify predictors of non-adherence to iron chelation therapy among children suffering from β-thalassemia major across different treatment regimens. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out from 1st January 2019 to 30th June 2019. The study was conducted at the Pakistan Institute of Thalassemia, Islamabad. Children between the ages of 2 -16 years suffering from β-Thalassemia major and taking iron chelation therapy were included in the study. Chelation adherence for this analysis was defined as the percent of doses taken in the last 12 weeks out of those prescribed. Guardians of patients were interviewed using a questionnaire and medical records were checked. Data were analysed using SPSS 20.0. Multivariate analysis was conducted to identify the predictors for non-adherence to chelation therapy. The significant value was set at ≤ 0.05. Results: Mean age of the patients in our study was 8.90± 3.74 years. There were 33 males and 64 females. Most of the patients n=87 (89.7%) were taking oral iron chelation therapy. The mean score for chelation adherence was 67.12%. Among the multiple demographic, medical-related, and patient-related factors analysed, travel time from the patient’s residence to the treatment centre and the number of transfusions per year were found to be significant predictors (p-value ≤0.05) of non-adherence to iron chelation therapy. Conclusion: Overall, the study provides strong evidence that healthcare-related factors play a major role in patients’ adherence to treatment. A systemic approach should be taken to ensure patient adherence during the management of paediatric thalassemic patients

Primary Renal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An Unusual Malignancy

Malignancies of the upper urinary tract are rare, accounting for about 8% of all malignancies of the renal system, presenting mostly as urothelial carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arising from the upper urinary tract is even more rare, accounting for about 0.5% of all malignancies of the renal system and 10% of all renal pelvic tumors. There are very few case reports in the indexed literature regarding renal squamous cell carcinoma. Here we present a case of SCC arising from the lower pole of left kidney, in a 35-year-old male resident of Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir

Antibiotic Sensitivity Patterns of Uropathogens in Children: The Current Trend

Background: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant infections has led to increased health care costs and mortality among children. The purpose of this study was to determine the causative organisms responsible for urinary tract infection and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern among pediatric patients of Rawalpindi/Islamabad. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from June 2014 to June 2015, in the Department of Microbiology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, affiliated with the Military Hospital, Rawalpindi. About 270 urine samples of children with UTI were analyzed through Analytical Profile Index (API) 20E and biochemical test strips system. Their antibiotic susceptibility was determined by using standard techniques. Data were assessed and analyzed by SPSS version 17. Results: Most common uropathogen was Escherichia coli (61.48%), followed by Proteus (15.5), Klebsiella (12.3%), Pseudomonas (4.5%), Enterococcus (3.7%) and Enterobacter (2.5%). Gram-negative rods, were most sensitive to imipenem (100%), Gentamycin (86%) and Amikacin (78.3%). They were least sensitive to Ampicillin (4.2%) and Norfloxacin (5.5%). Gram-positive cocci showed highest sensitivity for Vancomycin (100%) while displayed relatively less sensitivity for Nitrofurantoin (61.2%) and Gentamycin (48.7%). Cephalosporins also showed increased resistance with only 14% of gram-negative rods showing sensitivity to Cefotaxime. These organisms were highly resistant to Penicillin, showing a sensitivity of only 12.4%. Conclusion: Decreased sensitivity against penicillin and cephalosporins is seen in uropathogens causing UTI in children. High sensitivity towards Nitrofurantoin makes this drug an empirical treatment in UTI.  Regular surveillance of the developing resistance in uropathogens due to inappropriate use of antibiotic is necessary to reduce complication in children with urinary tract infection

Characterization of greater middle eastern genetic variation for enhanced disease gene discovery

The Greater Middle East (GME) has been a central hub of human migration and population admixture. The tradition of consanguinity, variably practiced in the Persian Gulf region, North Africa, and Central Asia1-3, has resulted in an elevated burden of recessive disease4. Here we generated a whole-exome GME variome from 1,111 unrelated subjects. We detected substantial diversity and admixture in continental and subregional populations, corresponding to several ancient founder populations with little evidence of bottlenecks. Measured consanguinity rates were an order of magnitude above those in other sampled populations, and the GME population exhibited an increased burden of runs of homozygosity (ROHs) but showed no evidence for reduced burden of deleterious variation due to classically theorized ‘genetic purging’. Applying this database to unsolved recessive conditions in the GME population reduced the number of potential disease-causing variants by four- to sevenfold. These results show variegated genetic architecture in GME populations and support future human genetic discoveries in Mendelian and population genetics

Equilibrium Thermodynamic Properties, Structure and Dynamics of the Lithium Helium (LiHe) van der Waals Molecule

Lithium helium (LiHe) is an interesting van der Waals molecule due to theoreticalinterest in its molecular structure and properties. We use cryogenic helium buer gascooling to produce high densities of atomic lithium at temperatures ranging from 1{5Kelvin. LiHe molecules are formed by three body recombination:Li + He + He $ LiHe + He: (1)The Li density is continuously monitored via laser absorption spectroscopy. LiHe isdetected spectroscopically using both laser induced uorescence and laser absorptionspectroscopy. The LiHe spectrum shows good agreement with a theoretical model ofthe molecular structure, with only a single bound rovibrational state.In thermal equilibrium, the expected density of LiHe is given bynLiHe = nLi nHe h22kBT3=2e=kBT ; (2)where n is the density of the given species and is the binding energy of the singleLiHe bound state. Our data shows good agreement with this model, and we use itto determine the binding energy of the LiHe ground state. The measured bindingenergy is consistent with the calculated value. We also made attempts to measurethe rate coecients for the reactions of Eq. 1

Physicochemical, Rheological and Sensory Evaluation of Herbal Bread Containing Turmeric, Ginger, and Black Cumin Powder

The diversity in the global food market is expanding as thousands of new products enter the business every year, among which nutraceutical and functional foods hold important positions. The present research work aimed at the nutritional evaluation of three medicinal herbs, i.e., turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), ginger (Zingiber officinale), and black cumin (Nigella sativa). A bread formulation was enriched with the individual/combined supplementation (1–3%) of these herbs. Later, the bread was analyzed for nutritional, rheological, textural, and sensorial characteristics. The results revealed that the herbs improved the nutritional composition of bread, especially ash and fiber, as the maximum ash and fiber contents were noticed in T15 (2.0% dried powder of each plant) with values of 1.64 ± 0.04% and 4.63 ± 0.16%, respectively. The results regarding the rheological behavior showed minor variations in the rheological traits and a slight increase in dough development time up to 4.50 ± 0.20 min in T10 from 2.80 ± 0.13 min in T0. The sensorial attributes also indicated their marked suitability as external and internal characteristics were least affected by the addition of the herbs. Although some parameters like the crust and crumb colors were affected by the addition of black cumin, showing values of 6.25 ± 0.52 and 4.44 ± 0.19, respectively, in T15, and aroma characteristics were affected by the addition of ginger, supplementation with a combination of herbs at lower doses mitigated the adverse effects of other herbs. Moreover, shelf-life extension, especially with the addition of turmeric powder, was the hallmark of this research. This study concluded that medicinal herbs can be incorporated into baked products to improve the nutritional and sensorial attributes of functional herbal bread