Analysis of amniotic fluid specimens for common chromosome disorders using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization

Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the usage of multi colour FISH technology as an adjunct to conventional cytogenetics for the prenatal diagnosis of aneuploidy in interphase nuclei from high risk pregnancies.Methods: Amniotic fluid samples were collected for interphase FISH analysis using DNA probes for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y. All the probes were directly labeled with fluorescent molecules. Fluorescent signals were observed under a microscope. A minimum of 100 nuclei with defined hybridization signals were counted for each probe. Results: Seventy-eight amniotic fluid samples were received for FISH analysis. The average age of mothers and their gestational ages were 33 years and 17.5 weeks respectively. Triple test screening was positive in 39.5% of the women followed by advanced maternal age and ultrasonographic abnormalities. Interphase FISH was performed on 76 specimens whereas 2 samples were rejected because of blood contamination. Aneuploidy was identified in 6 out of 76 specimens. Two cases of trisomy 21, two cases of trisomy 18 and one case of monosomy X were detected. In addition, one case showed 10% mosaicism for trisomy 21. Initially 4 (5.3%) samples were uninformative due to technical reasons but gave acceptable scoring signals when reanalyzed. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that interphase FISH is a rapid and a reliable technique for the enumeration of chromosome number in uncultured amniocytes. Clinicians can use it for making early decisions necessary for the management of high risk pregnancies ultimately saving patients from anxiety and psychological stress (JPMA 57:189;2007

The Alteration and Mineralization Characteristics of Miocene Porphyry Cu-Au Deposits of Chagai Magmatic Belt, District Chagai, Balochistan, Pakistan

Subduction related Miocene porphyry type deposits are found in the east-west trending Chagai magmatic belt (CMB) in Pakistan's western margin, Balochistan. This arc exists on the west segment of the Tethyan metallogenic belt in the south-west of Pakistan. Tethyan metallogenic belt is widely spread over 12,000 km from east to west direction from Indochina, Tibet, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Alpine mountain range in Europe. During the last thirty to forty years several porphyry deposits have been reported in the Chagai magmatic arc, including the very large Reko Diq H14-H15, large Saindak, Tanjeel, H35, H8 and medium Dasht-e-Kain porphyry deposits and many small porphyry copper deposits. These porphyry deposits were developed within the phase of calc-alkaline type magmatism in the Chagai arc. Tonalite, quartz diorite, and monzonite host the porphyry deposits within the adjacent sedimentary wall rock units of Sinjrani Volcanic Group, Juzzak, Saindak, and Amalaf Formations. The concentric zonal pattern of hydrothermal alteration in these porphyry deposits of the Chagai magmatic arc follows the world's major porphyry deposits' alteration pattern. Zones of hydrothermal alteration from distal to proximal part includesa potassic alteration, sericitic-clay-chlorite alteration, sericitic alteration, argillic alteration and propylitic alteration. Major ore mineralization in these deposits is of copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, and minor constituents of other base metals that have been reported to occur within hydrothermal alteration zones in the Miocene porphyry Chagai magmatic ar

Ethnomedicine use in the war affected region of northwest Pakistan

BACKGROUND: North-West of Pakistan is bestowed with medicinal plant resources due to diverse geographical and habitat conditions. The traditional use of plants for curing various diseases forms an important part of the region’s cultural heritage. The study was carried out to document medicinal plants used in Frontier Region (FR) Bannu, an area affected by the “War on Terror”. METHODS: Fieldwork was carried out in four different seasons (spring, autumn, summer and winter) from March 2012 to February 2013. Data on medicinal plants was collected using structured and semi-structured questionnaires from 250 respondents. The voucher specimens were collected, processed and identified following standard methods. RESULTS: Of the 107 species of ethnomedicinal plants reported, fifty percent species are herbaceous. The majority of the reported species were wild (55%) but a substantial proportion are cultivated (29%). For most of the plant species (34%), leaves are the most commonly used part in the preparation of ethnomedicines. The most common use of species is for carminative purposes (14 species), with the next most common use being for blood purification (11 species). The main methods used in the preparation of ethnomedicinal recipes involves grinding and boiling, and nearly all the remedies are taken orally along with ingredients such as water, milk or honey for ease of ingestion. Traditional healers prepare plant remedies using one or more plants. There was a significant correlation (r(2) = 0.95) between the age of local people and the number of plants known to them, which indicates that in the coming 20 years, an approximate decrease of 75% in the indigenous knowledge may be expected. CONCLUSION: Traditional medicines are important to the livelihoods of rural communities in the region affected by the Global war on Terrorism. The medicinal recipes are indigenous; however, there is a threat to their future use on account of rapid modernization and terrorist activities. Documentation of medicinal plants and recipes may help in the conservation of the regional indigenous medicinal knowledge for future generations and to provide a baseline for further studies

The Impact of Intellectual Capital on the Financial Performance in Insurance Firms Listed in Amman Stock Exchange: Using the (VAIC) Model

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the impact of intellectual capital (human capital, structural capital, and employed capital) on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in the Amman Stock Exchange   Theoretical framework: Intellectual capital has become increasingly important in generating value for companies, and many researchers have linked it to corporate financial performance and strategic competitive advantage.   Design/methodology/approach: The study population consist of 21 insurance companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange in Jordan during the period of 2011-2020. Intellectual capital was measured using the value added intellectual coefficient model (Pulic, 2000), and its impact on financial performance was analyzed using published financial statements of the insurance companies.   Findings:  The results of the study found a statistically significant positive effect of human and employed capital on financial performance as measured by the rate of return on assets and return on equity. Furthermore, the study revealed a significant positive effect of intellectual capital, specifically human capital, on financial performance measured by market value (Tobin's Q).   Research, Practical & Social implications: The study suggests that insurance companies should treat intellectual capital as a strategic resource and monitor and invest in it periodically for continuous development. The study suggests building a positive organizational culture that supports intellectual capital is recommended   Originality/value:  This study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between intellectual capital and financial performance for the first time in the insurance industry in Amman Stock Exchange. The findings highlight the importance of managing and investing in intellectual capital as a strategic resource to enhance financial performance

Patterns of suicide and self-harm in Pakistan: a retrospective descriptive study protocol

Introduction Suicide is a major global public health problem. Low-income and middle-income countries contribute 78% of all suicidal deaths. Pakistan, a South Asian country, lacks official statistics on suicides at national level. Statistics on suicide are neither collected nationally nor published in the annual national morbidity and mortality surveys. Medicolegal reports on suicides and self-harm are extremely rich and important source of information but greatly underused in Pakistan. We aim to examine the patterns of suicides and self-harm retrospectively in patients who were registered with medicolegal centres (MLCs) in Karachi, during the period January 2017 to December 2021. Methods and analysis Using retrospective descriptive design, the data will be collected from the medical records maintained at the main office of the Karachi police surgeon. Data from all nine MLCs of Karachi are collated and stored at the main office of Police surgeon. Information on suicide and self-harm cases will be extracted from records of all MLCs. The data will be collected using structured proforma and it will be analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved for exemption from Aga Khan University, Ethical Review Committee. The findings of the study will be disseminated by conducting seminars for healthcare professionals and stakeholders including psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, medicolegal officers, police surgeons, mental health nurses, general and public health physicians and policy makers. Findings will be published in local and international peer-reviewed scientific journals

Confirmation of metastases by fine needle aspiration biopsy in patients with gynecologic malignancies

Fine needle aspirations (FNA) were performed on 48 patients treated for gynecologic malignancies and suspected of having recurrence of their disease. The suspected sites of metastases were peripheral lymph nodes (38 patients) and the retroperitoneal region (10 patients). Metastatic tumors were detected in 22 out of the 48 patients (45%) by FNA, with 9 patients having additional confirmation by excisional biopsies. Of the remaining patients, 9 had unsatisfactory specimens, and 2 had false-negative results. The report emphasizes the efficacy of this procedure, especially when positive results are obtained. Open biopsy can be restricted to those patients with negative or unsatisfactory results and a high clinical suspicion of metastasis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/23788/1/0000026.pd

Effects of Neem (Azadirachta indica) seed and Turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome extracts on aphids control, plant growth and yield in okra

The use of synthetic pesticides to control pests and increase crops yield is a common practice, but they cause several environmental and health problems. Therefore, there is a need to explore alternative approaches to reduce the sole dependence on synthetic pesticides. The present study was conducted to screen the extracts of Neem seed and Turmeric rhizome for pesticidal activities against okra pests (aphids). Experiments were conducted in field with four plots. One plot was kept as a control (unsprayed) and one was sprayed with synthetic pesticides, one with Neem seeds extract and one with Turmeric rhizome extract. The effect on number of pests, plant growth and yield was observed at regular intervals. A significant reduction in pests was recorded in all treatments as compared to the control. Neem seed extract was more effective than Turmeric rhizome extract as revealed by a 73% decrease in aphids by Neem extract in comparison to 54% by Turmeric extract after last application. Both the extracts were found to be more effective than the synthetic pesticides in controlling okra pests. Both the extracts had stimulatory effects on okra growth and yield. For example, the total yield of plots sprayed with Neem (53.3 kg plot-1) and Turmeric extract (47.7 kg plot-1) was higher than the yield of control plot (33.8 kg plot-1) and plot sprayed with synthetic pesticides (39 kg plot-1). It is concluded that Neem and Turmeric extracts can be used as alternative of synthetic pesticides for controlling pests attacks in okra

Modelling and analysis of the complement system signalling pathways: roles of C3, C5a and pro-inflammatory cytokines in SARS-CoV-2 infection

The complement system is an essential part of innate immunity. It is activated by invading pathogens causing inflammation, opsonization, and lysis via complement anaphylatoxins, complement opsonin’s and membrane attack complex (MAC), respectively. However, in SARS-CoV-2 infection overactivation of complement system is causing cytokine storm leading to multiple organs damage. In this study, the René Thomas kinetic logic approach was used for the development of biological regulatory network (BRN) to model SARS-CoV-2 mediated complement system signalling pathways. Betweenness centrality analysis in cytoscape was adopted for the selection of the most biologically plausible states in state graph. Among the model results, in strongly connected components (SCCs) pro-inflammatory cytokines (PICyts) oscillatory behaviour between recurrent generation and downregulation was found as the main feature of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Diversion of trajectories from the SCCs leading toward hyper-inflammatory response was found in agreement with in vivo studies that overactive innate immunity response caused PICyts storm during SARS-CoV-2 infection. The complex of negative regulators FI, CR1 and DAF in the inhibition of complement peptide (C5a) and PICyts was found desirable to increase immune responses. In modelling role of MAC and PICyts in lowering of SARS-CoV-2 titre was found coherent with experimental studies. Intervention in upregulation of C5a and PICyts by C3 was found helpful in back-and-forth variation of signalling pattern linked with the levels of PICyts. Moreover, intervention in upregulation of PICyts by C5a was found productive in downregulation of all activating factors in the normal SCCs. However, the computational model predictions require experimental studies to be validated by exploring the activation role of C3 and C5a which could change levels of PICyts at various phases of SARS-CoV-2 infection