Family and its Changing Perceptions Amongst South Asian Muslims Living in London Since 1960

The present study deals with the changing perceptions about family as a social unit amongst South Asian Muslims living in London since 1960. It begins with a discussion of the background of South Asian Muslims and the history of Muslims immigrants in Britain in the early years of 1960. The ideal structure of the family as the basic unit of human society in the Islamic notion is also explained in the light of these changing perceptions. A qualitative method has been selected for this study. Three families and nine participants were interviewed for this research. Three participants were selected from each family as the representing members of three different generations. The study explores the relationships between individuals of the three generations. The research also found that the primary reason behind the differences of opinions is cultural, for the Islamic point of view most of them agree on family gnomes. There is a gap found in generations, this gap extended gradually and there is a big gap between first and third generation. The key finding of the research is that there is a gap in the relationship amongst the three generations due to the differences of opinions and perceptions. The differences are not only an outcome but reflect the growing cultural distancing of the East and the West. There is a cultural evolution found in the South Asian Muslims, which has affected the third generation of immigrant families most vastly. As a result, a new culture is emerging in Britain, which could be called the ‘British Muslim Culture’, which is diverse in nature and contains traces of both Eastern and Western cultures

Development and Validation of Analytical Method for Losartan-Copper Complex Using UV-Vis Spectrophotometry

Purpose: To develop a new spectrophotometric method for the analysis of losartan potassium in pharmaceutical formulations by making its complex with copper.Method: A coloured complex based on UV/Vis spectroscopic method was developed for the determination of losartan potassium concentration in pharmaceutical formulations in the visible region. The colored complex of losartan was formed with cupric acetate (5:4). Analysis was carried out by the two methods - absorption ratio and calibration curve methods. The proposed method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy and precision.Results: The λ maximum of the complex was recorded at 530 nm. Beer`s law was obeyed in the range of 10 - 50 μg/ml with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.9989. Mean analytical results from the calibration curve and absorption ratio methods were 99.42 and 99.16 % with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.97 and 0.82 %, respectively. Mean recovery was between 98.61 and 101.35 % and precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) was 0.91 %.Conclusion: The proposed method is simple, easy to apply, low-cost, and requires relatively inexpensive instruments. Thus, it is a suitable alternative to currently used spectrophotometric methods for the determination of losartan in bulk and solid dosage forms.Keywords: Losartan, Copper complex, Spectrophotometry, Validatio

Effect of Perioperative Stroke on Survival After Carotid Intervention

OBJECTIVES: Perioperative stroke is the most dreaded complication of carotid artery interventions and can severely affect patients\u27 quality of life. This study evaluated the impact of this event on mortality for patients undergoing interventional treatment of carotid artery stenosis with three different modalities. METHODS: Patients undergoing carotid revascularization at participating Memorial Hermann Health System facilities were captured from 2003-2022. These patients were treated with either carotid endarterectomy (CEA), transfemoral carotid stenting (TF-CAS), or transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR). Perioperative outcomes, including stroke and mortality, as well as follow-up survival data at 6-month intervals, were analyzed and stratified per treatment modality. RESULTS: Of the 1681 carotid revascularization patients identified, 992 underwent CEA (59.0%), 524 underwent TCAR (31.2%), and 165 underwent TF-CAS (9.8%). The incidence of stroke was 2.1% (CEA 2.1%, TCAR 1.7%, and TF-CAS 3.6%; CONCLUSION: Perioperative stroke during carotid interventions significantly impacts early patient survival with otherwise no apparent change in mid-term outcomes at 5 years. This difference appears to be even more significant in patients undergoing TCAR, possibly due to their baseline higher-risk profile and lower functional reserve

Psychosocial factors in patients with kidney failure and role for social worker : a secondary data audit

Background: People with kidney failure face a multitude of psychosocial stressors that affect disease trajectory and health outcomes. Objectives: To investigate psychosocial factors affecting people with kidney failure before or at start of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) and kidney supportive and palliative care (KSPC) phases of illness and to explore role of social worker during the illness trajectory. Methods: We conducted a secondary data audit of patients either before or at start of KRT (Phase 1) and at the KSPC (Phase 2) of illness and had psychosocial assessments between March 2012 and March 2020 in an Australian setting. Results: Seventy-nine individuals, aged 70 ± 12 years, had at least two psychosocial assessments, one in each of the two phases of illness. The median time between social worker evaluations in Phase 1 and Phase 2 was 522 (116−943) days. Adjustment to illness and treatment (90%) was the most prevalent psychosocial issue identified in Phase 1, which declined to 39% in Phase 2. Need for aged care assistance (7.6%−63%; p < 0.001) and carer support (7.6%−42%; p < 0.001) increased significantly from Phase 1 to Phase 2. There was a significant increase in psychosocial interventions by the social worker in Phase 2, including supportive counselling (53%−73%; p < 0.05), provision of education and information (43%−65%; p < 0.01), and referrals (28%−62%; p < 0.01). Conclusion: Adults nearing or at the start of KRT experience immense psychosocial burden and adaptive demands that recognisably change during the course of illness. The positive role played by the nephrology social worker warrants further investigation

Co-designing an intervention to improve the process of deprescribing for older people living with frailty in the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: In older people living with frailty, polypharmacy can lead to preventable harm like adverse drug reactions and hospitalization. Deprescribing is a strategy to reduce problematic polypharmacy. All stakeholders should be actively involved in developing a person-centred deprescribing process that involves shared decision-making. OBJECTIVE: To co-design an intervention, supported by a logic model, to increase the engagement of older people living with frailty in the process of deprescribing. DESIGN: Experience-based co-design is an approach to service improvement, which uses service users and providers to identify problems and design solutions. This was used to create a person-centred intervention with the potential to improve the quality and outcomes of the deprescribing process. A 'trigger film' showing older people talking about their healthcare experiences was created and facilitated discussions about current problems in the deprescribing process. Problems were then prioritized and appropriate solutions were developed. The review located the solutions in the context of current processes and procedures. An ideal care pathway and a complex intervention to deliver better care were developed. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Older people living with frailty, their informal carers and professionals living and/or working in West Yorkshire, England, UK. Deprescribing was considered in the context of primary care. RESULTS: The current deprescribing process differed from an ideal pathway. A complex intervention containing seven elements was required to move towards the ideal pathway. Three of these elements were prototyped and four still need development. The complex intervention responded to priorities about (a) clarity for older people about what was happening at all stages in the deprescribing process and (b) the quality of one-to-one consultations. CONCLUSIONS: Priorities for improving the current deprescribing process were successfully identified. Solutions were developed and structured as a complex intervention. Further work is underway to (a) complete the prototyping of the intervention and (b) conduct feasibility testing. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Older people living with frailty (and their informal carers) have made a central contribution, as collaborators, to ensure that a complex intervention has the greatest possible potential to enhance the experience of deprescribing medicines

Venous thromboembolism in critically ill COVID-19 patients receiving prophylactic or therapeutic anticoagulation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Many aspects of care such as management of hypercoagulable state in COVID-19 patients, especially those admitted to intensive care units is challenging in the rapidly evolving pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We seek to systematically review the available evidence regarding the anticoagulation approach to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) among COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units. Electronic databases were searched for studies reporting venous thromboembolic events in patients admitted to the intensive care unit receiving any type of anticoagulation (prophylactic or therapeutic). The pooled prevalence (and 95% confidence interval [CI]) of VTE among patients receiving anticoagulant were calculated using the random-effects model. Subgroup pooled analyses were performed with studies reported prophylactic anticoagulation alone and with studies reported mixed prophylactic and therapeutic anticoagulation. We included twelve studies (8 Europe; 2 UK; 1 each from the US and China) in our systematic review and meta-analysis. All studies utilized LMWH or unfractionated heparin as their pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis, either prophylactic doses or therapeutic doses. Seven studies reported on the proportion of patients with the previous history of VTE (range 0–10%). The pooled prevalence of VTE among ICU patients receiving prophylactic or therapeutic anticoagulation across all studies was 31% (95% CI 20–43%). Subgroup pooled analysis limited to studies reported prophylactic anticoagulation alone and mixed (therapeutic and prophylactic anticoagulation) reported pooled prevalences of VTE of 38% (95% CI 10–70%) and 27% (95% CI 17–40%) respectively. With a high prevalence of thromboprophylaxis failure among COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units, individualised rather than protocolised VTE thromboprophylaxis would appear prudent at interim

Association between germline variants and somatic mutations in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease with evidence of distinct tumor types that develop through different somatically altered pathways. To better understand the impact of the host genome on somatically mutated genes and pathways, we assessed associations of germline variations with somatic events via two complementary approaches. We first analyzed the association between individual germline genetic variants and the presence of non-silent somatic mutations in genes in 1375 CRC cases with genome-wide SNPs data and a tumor sequencing panel targeting 205 genes. In the second analysis, we tested if germline variants located within previously identified regions of somatic allelic imbalance were associated with overall CRC risk using summary statistics from a recent large scale GWAS (n similar or equal to 125 k CRC cases and controls). The first analysis revealed that a variant (rs78963230) located within a CNA region associated with TLR3 was also associated with a non-silent mutation within gene FBXW7. In the secondary analysis, the variant rs2302274 located in CDX1/PDGFRB frequently gained/lost in colorectal tumors was associated with overall CRC risk (OR = 0.96, p = 7.50e-7). In summary, we demonstrate that an integrative analysis of somatic and germline variation can lead to new insights about CRC

The Crux of the Medicine Prices' Controversy in Pakistan

no abstract available