Effectiveness of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients with COPD

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is beneficial for patients with COPD, with improvement in exercise capacity and health-related quality of life. Despite these overall benefits, the responses to PR vary significantly among different individuals. It is not clear if PR is beneficial for patients with COPD and normal exercise capacity. Although it is believed that longer pulmonary rehabilitation programs can provide better results, most of the evidence comes from short-term programs. Objective: The objective of this analysis was to determine the effectiveness of respiratory services provided in the hospital or community by respiratory therapists (RTs) in reducing health care utilization and improving patient outcomes. The aim was to evaluate the outcomes of a comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methodology: All 65 Pakistani patients who met the inclusion criteria with ages between 40 to 65 years, including both male and female, with mild to severe COPD were enrolled in the study on the basis of convenient sampling. Informed consent was taken from each patient starting about the study and their rights to withdraw from study. A demographics detail (name, age, sex) was noted along with the necessary medical history. A questionnaire was made to see the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD. All necessary tests were performed to evaluate the patient betterment completely. Results: The mean FEV1 in the subjects was 1.29 ± 0.47 L/min, 64.8 ± 23.0% of predicted. Clinically there is a little effect on CXR pattern, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC after pulmonary rehabilitation. But overall quality of life improved after pulmonary rehabilitation. Mainly improvement occurs in peak expiratory flow rate, BORG dyspnea scale, 6 mint walk test distance (meters) and Oxygen saturation after rehabilitation. Conclusion: These results showed that patients with COPD had benefited from a comprehensive PR program in an out-patient setting regardless of disease severity. Exercise training can result in significant improvement in health-related quality of life, exercise capacity, respiratory muscle strength, and exertional dyspnea in subjects with COPD and normal exercise capacity

Management and Complications of Arnold Chiari Hydrocephalus at Tertiary Health Care Center

Objective: to investigate the role of CT and MRI in diagnosis of Arnold chiari malformation of hydrocephalus and its treatment with VP shunt along with complications. Study Design: Prospective study Place and duration: Department of Neurosurgery, DG Khan Medical College from May 4, 2018 to May 4, 2019. Methodology: Fifty patients of congenital hydrocephalus who were not treated previously were selected. Detailed history about disease and clinical examination of patients was performed. Follow ups were done at neurosurgery OPD. SPSS software for data analysis was used and mean ± SD, frequency and percentages were calculated for variables. P value ≤0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Treatment in case of congenital hydrocephalus as VP shunt, intra-aneurysmal coiling, excision of meningomyelocele with VP shunt and suboccipital craniectomy + upper cervical laminectomy (scucl) were observed as 10%, 6%, 8% and 8% respectively.  Twelve percent of patients were not treated. Conclusion: CT and MRI are the main diagnostic tools for diagnosis of Arnold chiari malformation and VP shunt is the treatment of choice. Among complications of VP shunt infection of shunt and shunt block are the main complications

To experimental study of performance evaluation of masonry brick bond in shear and compression in comparison

The construction of a structure is prohibitively expensive due to high material and labour expenses. Still, the production of cement, which is the most widely used binding substance in construction, results in the emission of a large amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. It has only recently been discovered that Pakistan is short of approximately 9 million residential constructions. Thus, there is a great need for cost-effective and energy-efficient masonry construction because of economic and environmental concerns. Rat-trap masonry bond creates a cavity in the wall, which serves as both thermal insulation and a cost-saving measure. Because of the inherent property of rat-trap masonry bond, a cavity is formed in the wall, which not only serves as thermal insulation for the interior but is also cost-effective It has been observed that approximately 26.11 % of the total construction cost, comprising of labor and material, can be curtailed by adopting the rat-trap bonding technique. Rat-trap bond construction is recognized as a greener and more sustainable alternative to conventional brick bonds. A comparative study of the structural behavior of the rat-trap and conventionally used English bond has been conducted. 72 prisms of rat-trap bond and English bond from three sources of bricks were tested under compression load at the ages of 28 and 56 days. The same number of prisms were tested under diagonal tension load at both ages. 18 triplet prisms from all sources of bricks were tested for shear bond strength without lateral load, whereas 5 triplet prisms from every brick source were tested with a set of lateral pre-compression loading of 29 psi, 87 psi, and 145 psi. The results show that the rat-trap bond has much higher compressive and shear strengths than the English bond

Calpastatin (CAST) gene polymorphism in Kajli, Lohi and Thalli sheep breeds

Calpastatin-encoding gene (<i>CAST</i>) is located on the fifth chromosome of sheep and it plays an  important role in the development of muscles and in meat tenderness. The present study was conducted to  investigate a calpastatin (CAST) gene polymorphism in Pakistani Thalli, Lohi and Kajli sheep breed. Random blood samples were collected from 300 animals (100 samples from each Thalli, Lohi and Kajli breeds).  Genomic DNA was extracted using phenol-chloroform extraction method. A 622 bp CAST gene segment (exon 1C/1D region) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using ovine specific primers. Restriction  fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in the amplified fragments were studied using Msp1 restriction  enzyme. Frequencies of MM, MN and NN genotypes were found to be 77, 20 and 3% in Lohi breed and 68, 26 and 6% in Kajli breed respectively. In Thalli sheep, only the MM (80%) and MN (20%) genotypes were  detected. Chi-Square test (p < 0.05) showed that all the three populations used in this study were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. By comparing the results of this study with those of previous studies, it seems that the MM genotype is the dominant genotype and the M allele is the dominant allele in small ruminant breeds belonging to different geographical locations.Key words: Thalli, Lohi, CAST gene, Kajli, polymorphism, Msp1, PCR-RFLP

COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF HYPERTONIC SALINE AND NORMAL SALINE SOLUTIONS IN EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED ENDOTOXIC SHOCK IN DOGS

This study was contemplated to determine the comparative beneficial effects of hypertonic saline solution and sterile saline solution in induced endotoxic shock in dogs. For this purpose, 12 healthy Mongrel dogs were randomly divided into two equal groups (A and B). All the animals were induced endotoxaemia by slow intravenous administration of Escherichia coli endotoxins 0111:B4. Group A was treated with normal saline solution @ 90 ml/kg BW, while group B was given hypertonic saline solution @ 4 ml/kg BW, followed by normal saline solution @ 10 ml/kg BW. Different parameters were observed for evaluation of these fluids including clinical and haematological parameters, serum electrolytes, mean arterial pressure, and blood gases at different time intervals up to 24 hours post treatments. After infusion of respective fluids, all parameters returned to baseline values in both the groups but group B showed better results than group A except bicarbonates, which better recovered in group A. Thus, it was concluded that a small-volume of hypertonic saline solution could be effectively used in reversing the endotoxaemia. Moreover, it provides a rapid and inexpensive resuscitation from endotoxic shock

Remote Control of Tissue Interactions via Engineered Photo-switchable Cell Surfaces

We report a general cell surface molecular engineering strategy via liposome fusion delivery to create a dual photo-active and bio-orthogonal cell surface for remote controlled spatial and temporal manipulation of microtissue assembly and disassembly. Cell surface tailoring of chemoselective functional groups was achieved by a liposome fusion delivery method and quantified by flow cytometry and characterized by a new cell surface lipid pull down mass spectrometry strategy. Dynamic co-culture spheroid tissue assembly in solution and co-culture tissue multilayer assembly on materials was demonstrated by an intercellular photo-oxime ligation that could be remotely cleaved and disassembled on demand. Spatial and temporal control of microtissue structures containing multiple cell types was demonstrated by the generation of patterned multilayers for controlling stem cell differentiation. Remote control of cell interactions via cell surface engineering that allows for real-time manipulation of tissue dynamics may provide tools with the scope to answer fundamental questions of cell communication and initiate new biotechnologies ranging from imaging probes to drug delivery vehicles to regenerative medicine, inexpensive bioreactor technology and tissue engineering therapies

Carotid artery Disease Assessed by Color Doppler Flow Imaging: Comparison Between Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Patients

Background: Carotid artery disease is most often seen in hypertensive patients and in patients with diabetes mellitus. More than 50% stenosis of extra cranial internal carotid arteries is linked with about 8–15% of ischemic strokes. The incidence of carotid artery stenosis (CAS) among diabetic patients is rising as compared to non-diabetic patients.  Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 120 patients, out of whom 60 were diabetic and 60 non-diabetics with clinically suspected carotid artery disease.  The study was conducted at the university ultrasound clinic in Green Town by Doppler ultrasonography using the Toshiba XARIO XG, which features a linear probe of 5-7.5 MHz frequency. The data was analyzed with the help of SPSS version 25.0. Variables like age, gender, diabetes, and Intima-media thickness (IMT) were reported and the mean ± standard deviation of Pulsatility Index, Resistive Index, Peak Systolic Velocity, and End Diastolic Velocity were calculated with a significant p-value, which is less than 0.05. An independent t-test was applied to compare Doppler indices in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects.Results: Data was collected from 120 patients. IMT of right and left carotid artery, PI and RI of right carotid were observed to be statistically significant in diabetic and non-diabetic.Conclusions: This study concluded that there is a significant correlation found between carotid artery disease and diabetes. Through ultrasonography, the presence of plaque and stenosis was found in more diabetic patients than in non-diabetic patients.Keywords: Ultrasonography; Carotid artery disease; Carotid artery stenosis; Carotid plaque; Vascular ultrasound; Diabetes   

2,4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazone derivatives as potent alpha amylase inhibitors

277-282In our current study thirteen new 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazone derivatives 1–13 have been evaluated for alpha amylase activity. The molecular docking results indicate that compounds potentially bind in the catalytic site of the enzyme with excellent result. Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software was used for docking study. 2,4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazone 1-13 have been obtained under reflux conditions by reacting dinitrophenyl hydrazine in methanol with different aromatic as well as aliphatic aldehydes in the presence of acetic acid act as a catalyst. The current results have shown that compounds 5 (IC50 =12.16µg/mL), 6 (IC50 =15.03µg/mL), and 12 (IC50 =16.42 µg/mL) have been found to be the more potent alpha amylase inhibitors as compared to the standard acarbose (IC50 = 42.47µg/mL). These compounds may provide better leads for alpha amylase inhibitor and further assessment of these compounds can be of great help in the discovery of new antidiabetic drugs

2,4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazone derivatives as potent alpha amylase inhibitors

In our current study thirteen new 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazone derivatives 1–13 have been evaluated for alpha amylase activity. The molecular docking results indicate that compounds potentially bind in the catalytic site of the enzyme with excellent result. Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software was used for docking study. 2,4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazone 1-13 have been obtained under reflux conditions by reacting dinitrophenyl hydrazine in methanol with different aromatic as well as aliphatic aldehydes in the presence of acetic acid act as a catalyst. The current results have shown that compounds 5 (IC50 =12.16µg/mL), 6 (IC50 =15.03µg/mL), and 12 (IC50 =16.42 µg/mL) have been found to be the more potent alpha amylase inhibitors as compared to the standard acarbose (IC50 = 42.47µg/mL). These compounds may provide better leads for alpha amylase inhibitor and further assessment of these compounds can be of great help in the discovery of new antidiabetic drugs.