Preparation of Nano-Particles and Their Applications in Adsorption

The nano-technologies and nano-materials draw incredible consideration in recent years. Nano-particles are the particles having size ranging from 1 to 100 nm. The nano-particles are usually categorized into different classes, and their classification is based on size, shape, material production, and dimension. They show superior properties, i.e., enhanced reactivity, high BET surface area, sensitiveness, and steadiness as compared to their bulk materials. In this chapter, different approaches of synthesizing nano-particles, including sol gel, chemical vapor deposition, and biosynthesis are talked over. In the treatment of wastewater, nano-particles offer a possibility for effective adsorption of contaminants organic as well as inorganic. This chapter presents an overview on nano-particles, their types, characteristics, synthetic approaches, and applications in the field of surface chemistry

Exclusive Breastfeeding Knowledge among Primiparous Mothers

OBJECTIVES The study’s objective was to assess the knowledge of primiparous mothers for exclusive breastfeeding to babies for the first six months on their first postnatal follow-up. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional descriptive was conducted at Pediatrics Department, KRL Hospital Islamabad, for six months over 100 women from October 2022 to March 2023. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from the study participants. Females with primi gravida were selected, and interviews were conducted on a specific breastfeeding awareness questionnaire. The participant with correct and incorrect responses scored 1 and 0, respectively. Participants with scores of 0-4 were regarded as having poor knowledge, 4-7 as average and 7-10 as good knowledge regarding breastfeeding. The latest SPSS version analyzed Data. RESULTSResults show that the mean age was 24 years SD ± 1.2. Forty-one per cent of mothers were illiterate, 42% had Primary education, 15% had secondary school education, and only 2 % were university educated. Fifty-nine per cent of mothers were housewives, 29% were students, and 12% were working women. Moreover, 21% of mothers had poor knowledge of breastfeeding, 12% had average knowledge of breastfeeding, and 67% had good knowledge of breastfeeding. CONCLUSION Our study concludes that the knowledge of the primiparous mothers about breastfeeding was adequate

Population-attributable estimates for risk factors associated with hepatitis B and C: policy implications for Pakistan and other South Asian countries.

INTRODUCTION: Reuse of contaminated syringes, high frequency of injections, tattooing and skin piercing have repeatedly been shown to be important and independent risk factors for the transmission of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infections in South Asian countries. Estimation of population-attributable risks indicates the potential for hepatitis prevention if the exposure to certain modifiable factors can be eliminated. METHODS: We estimated the population-attributable risks of various risk factors for transmission of HBV and HCV using data from a large, nationally representative survey conducted in 2007 across Pakistan, a country known to have a high prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis. Odds ratio estimates and observed prevalence of the risk factors were used for calculating PAR estimates. We also performed a systematic review of published studies that identify the prevalence of similar modifiable risk factors for HBV and HCV from other South Asian countries in order to define an overall prevention strategy for the region. RESULTS: For HBV, a high frequency (\u3e10) of therapeutic injections in the past 1 year had an attributable risk of 3.5 % (95 % CI 2.9-3.9), reuse of syringes had a 2.7 % risk (95 % CI 2.2-3.1), the practice of being shaved by a barber 2.1 % (95 % CI 1.7-2.6), sharing of smoking utensils 4.4 % (95 % CI 3.8-4.9) and ear/nose piercing 1.4 % (95 % CI 1.2-1.7). Population-attributable risks for HCV were as follows: high frequency of therapeutic injections in the past 1 year 11.3 % (95 % CI 10.5-11.7), reuse of syringes 6.2 % (95 % CI 6.1-6.9), practice of being shaved by a barber shop 7.9 % (95 % CI 7.1-8.2), sharing of smoking utensils 8.1 % (95 % CI 6.9-8.5), practice of ear/nose piercing among females 5.9 % (95 % CI 5.2-6.1) and tattooing 5 % (95 % CI 4.3-5.6). A systematic review showed that other South Asian countries share a number of common risk factors for the transmission of viral hepatitis. CONCLUSION: A substantial number of HBV and HCV infections in Pakistan and other South Asian countries can be prevented by key interventions targeted toward a few selected and modifiable risk factors. Hence, policies specifically targeted at key risk factors for HBV and HCV such as safe and rational use of injections prescribed by trained health-care providers are urgently needed for countries like Pakistan

The effect of resistance and combined exercise on serum levels of liver enzymes and fitness indicators in women with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Background and Aim: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common cause of abnormal liver enzymes. We aimed to investigate the effects of of resistance and combined exercise on levels of liver enzymes in women with fatty liver disease Materials and Methods: In this study, 37 women were assigned into three groups including control, resistance and combined exercise groups. Resistance exercise protocol included 8 movements, 3 sets, 8-10 repetitions which performed at %60-75 of one repetition maximum، 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Combined exercise included 4 resistance movement in the first half of training session and the aerobic exercise at intensity of %60-75 maximum heart rate in the other half. The AST, ALT and ALP were measured using biochemical methods. Paired t-test results for the extraction of one-way ANOVA , at a significant level of 0/05 were analysed. Results: The level of ALP only in the resistance exercise group significantly decreased (p=0.03), but AST and ALT levels did not significantly change in any groups (p>0.05). The mean of ALT/AST ratio significantly increased in the resistance exercise group (p =0.04), but no significant changes were observed in the combination and control groups. The mean of flexibility (p=0.001), maximal oxygen consumption (p=0.02), muscle strength (p=0.003) and grip strength (p=0.001), significantly increased after resistance exercise. Conclusion: None of the resistance and combined exercises had significant effect on the levels of AST and ALT, but the resistance exercise improved ALP and fitness indicators.Therefore, resistance exercise may be more favorite for fatty liver patients

Improving curcumin bactericidal potential against multi-drug resistant bacteria via its loading in polydopamine coated zinc-based metal–organic frameworks

AbstractMulti-drug resistant (MDR) bactearial strains have posed serious health issues, thus leading to a significant increase in mortality, morbidity, and the expensive treatment of infections. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), comprising metal ions and a variety of organic ligands, have been employed as an effective drug deliveryy vehicle due to their low toxicity, biodegradability, higher structural integrity and diverse surface functionalities. Polydopamine (PDA) is a versatile biocompatible polymer with several interesting properties, including the ability to adhere to biological surfaces. As a result, modifying drug delivery vehicles with PDA has the potential to improve their antimicrobial properties. This work describes the preparation of PDA-coated Zn-MOFs for improving curcumin’s antibacterial properties against S. aureus and E. coli. Powder X-ray diffraction (P-XRD), FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and DLS were utilized to characterize PDA-coated Zn-MOFs. The curcumin loading and in vitro release of the prepared MOFs were also examined. Finally, the MOFs were tested for bactericidal ability against E. coli and S. aureus using an anti-bacterial assay and surface morphological analysis. Smaller size MOFs were capable of loading and releasing curcumin. The findings showed that as curcumin was encapsulated into PDA-coated MOFs, its bactericidal potential was significantly enhanced, and the findings were further supported by SEM which indicated the complete morphological distortion of the bacteria after treatment with PDA-Cur-Zn-MOFs. These studies clearly indicate that the PDA-Cur-Zn-MOFs developed in this study are extremely promising for long-term release of drugs to treat a wide range of microbial infections

Prevalence and Spatial Distribution of Animal Brucellosis in Central Punjab, Pakistan

Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease of animals and humans caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. Brucellae are Gram-negative intracellular bacteria which infect a wide variety of animals including goats, sheep, buffaloes, cows, pigs, and wildlife. The objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of brucellosis in Central Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 1083 blood samples of goats, sheep, buffaloes, and cows were collected from 38 villages of four districts (Kasur, Faisalabad, Lahore, and Okara) of Punjab, Pakistan, and screened for brucellosis by Rose Bengal Plate test (RBPT) and PCR confirmed. Epidemiological, demographic data and GPS coordinates for every sample were collected. By using interpolation of the Aeronautical Reconnaissance Coverage Geographic Information System (Arc GIS), a surface plot was generated applying inverse distance weight (IDW). It was found that 35 (3.23%) serum samples were positive for brucellosis. In eight (61.5%), six (75%), seven (87.5%), and eight (89%) villages, positive goats, sheep, buffaloes, and cattle were detected, respectively. In general, older animals are more often positive for brucellosis. In goats bucks were more often RBPT positive than females while in sheep, buffaloes, and cattle more females were positive. The spatial distribution of brucellosis shows that it is widely distributed in the western region of the study area in goats and in the South-West region in sheep. Similarly, for buffaloes it is restricted to the south-east and north-west regions, and in cattle brucellosis is present in western region of study area only. Reflected by this study, brucellosis poses a risk for livestock in developing countries due to lack of awareness by officials, owners, and consumers, and control measures are missing. A risk map of brucellosis was generated to develop effective strategies for awareness rising and to improve the quality of control programs in Pakistan

Gum acacia stabilized silver nanoparticles based nano-cargo for enhanced anti-arthritic potentials of hesperidin in adjuvant induced arthritic rats

<p>Nanomedicines anticipate drug delivery to inflamed tissues in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with greater efficacy and lesser side effects. This study investigates the anti-arthritic potentials of Hesperidin (HP) loaded in gum acacia (GA) stabilized green silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Synthesized GA-AgNPs were characterized through UV–vis spectrophotometer, zetasizer and atomic force microscope (AFM). The HP and its loaded NPs were tested for RA in Complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritis model. GA-AgNPs were found in nano-range size with negative charge, spherical shape and loaded increased HP amount. HP loaded GA-AgNPs showed minimal arthritic score exhibiting mild to moderate tissue swelling, reduced degenerative changes along with mild articular changes. Histopathological analysis revealed comparatively lesser influx of inflammatory cells and diminished granulamatous inflammation in ankle joints tissues in the presence of HP loaded GA-AgNPs. RT-PCR revealed that HP loaded GA-AgNPs significantly reduced the TLRs mRNA expression. Results validate GA stabilized green AgNPs as stable nano-cargos for targeted delivery of HP for restoring the progression of RA.</p