Anti-Biofilm Forming Activity of Natural Products Extract Punica Granatum L. and Magnifera Indica L

OBJECTIVES o evaluate the biofilm activity of Escherichia coli and the anti-biofilm forming activity of Pomegranate peels Punica granatum L. and Mango leafs Mangifera Indica L. extracts against Escherichia coli and their combined synergistic effect using 96 well microtiter plate. METHODOLOGY The study design was a cross-sectional study. The sample size was 150. The samples were collected from patients at PNS Shifa Hospital Karachi. The age group of the individuals included was from 15 to 50 years. The specimens received in the lab were inoculated on CLED agar, Blood agar, and MacConkey’s agar culture plates. Escherichia coli was identified by colony morphology, gram staining, TSI, and further biochemical test analysis. After identification, the samples were processed for biofilm activity on 96 well microtiter plate method and using serial dilution method to assess the anti-biofilm activity of natural product extracts. Patient's age, gender, and hospital number of patients were recorded on specially designed proforma with ERC approval no 83/2021.  RESULTSAmong 150 patients, 64% were males, and 36% were females. Overall mean age was (33.79±9.94) and (34.02±10.59) years. 90% of samples showed biofilm formation. We found a significant relationship between culture and examination (p-value 0.000), while no significant association was found between gender (p-value 0.69), age (p-value 0.44) and biofilm formation (p-value 0.57). Anti-biofilm forming activity of pomegranate peel extract against Escherichia coli was (24.46±19.09) with mean and standard deviation. Anti-biofilm forming activity of Mango leaf extract against Escherichia coli was (14.90±9.56). Significant synergistic relation was observed in both extracts, Punica granatum L. and Mango leaf extract Mangifera Indica L. used in combination. CONCLUSION It was concluded that a novel combination of natural product extracts had shown higher effectiveness against the rapid emergence of biofilm-forming pathogens

Effect of Whitefly Transmitted Geminiviruses on the Physiology of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) and Tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana L.) Plants

Viruses always have profound effect on the growth and development of plants and interact with host defense mechanism and results in altering the physiology of plants. In the present study effect of different whitefly transmitted begomoviruses; (monopartite as well as bipartite) on the contents of soluble sugar and chlorophyll of Lycopersicon esculentum and Nicotiana benthamiana plants were investigated. It was found that the leaf relative water contents (RWC), total soluble sugars (TSS), fresh and dry biomass, photosynthetic pigments level were more in healthy plants as compared to virus infected plants. Plant infected both with Tomato leaf curl new dehli virus and Cotton leaf curl burewalla virus associated with betasatelite showed reduced TSS and leaf relative water contents as compared to healthy plants. Among infectious clones Cotton leaf curl burewalla virus associated with beta satellite (CLCuV+CLCuB), Tomato leaf curl new dehli virus (ToLCNDV) caused more reduction while Malvestrum yellow vein change manga virus (MYVCMV) caused less reduction as compared to above mentioned clones. CLCuV+ CLCuB showed significant effect on Chlorophyll a (9.60, 8.93mg/g), Chlorophyll b (7.2, 5.86 mg/g) and total chlorophyll contents (16.8, 14.8 mg/g) in both plants respectively. While ToLCNDV caused reduction in RWC (80% to 36%) in case of L. esculentum while RWC (75 to 30%) in N. benthamiana. Among L. esculentum TSS was reduced (8.13 to 3.33 mg/g) due to CLCuV+CLCuB infection. In case of N. benthamiana TSS was reduced (9.433 to 2.5 mg/g) due to ToLCNDV. Keywords: Geminivirus, Plant Physiology, TSS, Chlorophyll.

To Correlate the Expression of KRAS and BRAF V600e with Histological Grades and Variants in Tissue Samples of Colorectal Carcinoma

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to correlate the expression of KRAS and BRAF V600E with histological grades and variants in tissue samples of colorectal carcinoma.METHODOLOGY In this cross-sectional study total of 51 cases of Colorectal cancer (CRC) were analyzed for immunohistochemical staining using KRAS and BRAF antibodies on representative tissue blocks. Clinical and pathological records were retrieved for the collection of data. The results of the immunohistochemical analysis were correlated with the recorded clinicopathological parameters.RESULTSFifty-one cases of CRC were analyzed for immunoexpression of KRAS and BRAF V600E. The age of the patients ranged from 14 to 85 years, with a mean age of 60.96 years. Among the 51 cases, 37(72.5%) cases were males and 14(27.4%) were females. 37(72.5%) were localized to left side colon and 14(27.4%) were found in the right colon. For KRAS immunostaining, 41(80.3%) out of 51 cases showed overexpression, while the remaining 10(19.6%) cases revealed negative expression. In the case of BRAF V600E, positive expression was seen in 20(39.2%) cases, whereas 31(60.7%) cases showed negative expression of BRAFV600E. A significant association was seen between KRAS overexpression and histological variants, i.e. glandular carcinomas.  CONCLUSIONOver-expression of KRAS was observed in advanced tumors. The presence of BRAF V600E mutation in the present study signifies the importance of BRAF V600E inhibitors as a potential alternate therapeutic tool in EGFR inhibitors and chemotherapy-resistant tumors

Comparative Evaluation of Lamina Cribrosa Anatomical Parameters with Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Defects In Primary Open-angle Glaucoma Cases And Controls

OBJECTIVES To assess the lamina cribrosa (LC) anterior lamina cribrosa depth (ALCD), lamina cribrosa thickness (LCT) and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) cases and age-matched controls and to compare these anatomical variables among POAG cases and age-matched controls. METHODOLOGY The case-control study was researched at Al-Ain Eye Institute, Karachi, in four month’s duration (November 2018 till February 2019). Expert eye specialist recruited 57 POAG cases and 46 age-matched healthy controls. Observation of intraocular pressure (IOP) and open angle was done using Goldmann tonometry and Slit-lamp biomicroscopy with stereoscopic ophthalmoscopy respectively. Visual field parameters of mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD) measured using Humphrey Field Analyzer. Highly sensitive spectral domain ocular coherence tomography with enhanced depth imaging (EDI-OCT) was used to determine ALCD, LCT and RNFLT. RESULTS Statistically significant results were produced by RNFLT defects when it is compared in groups of mild with moderate cases of POAG (P-value 0.037). ALCD and LCT did display an association with RNFLT defects but did not produced statistically significant results. CONCLUSION Assessments of ALCD and LCT can provide important prognostic evidence about RNFLT and can assist in future planning of mild and moderate cases suffering from POAG

Frequency and Risk Factors of Depression among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Karachi

OBJECTIVES The study aimed to determine the frequency of depression among medical students and to identify the different risk factors associated with depression. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students at a private medical college in Karachi. The study was initiated after approval was taken from the ethical committee. Consent was taken before the data collection after explaining the details of the study. Students were selected for this study as per inclusion criteria. They were provided with the PHQ-9 questionnaire in which they were inquired about the factors for depression. The total students with depression positive were presented by their frequencies with a 95% confidence interval. RESULTSThree hundred seventy medical students participated, and 207 (56%) tested positive for depression. Notably, depression was more prevalent among final-year students, with 80% affected. Additionally, the severity of depression gradually increased with advancing medical years, reaching the highest level in the final year, where 61 students (80%) reported significant depression. The most frequent causes of depression were living away from home and facing the challenges of a demanding curriculum. CONCLUSION The study findings revealed a higher likelihood of depression among medical students, particularly in their final year. This vulnerability was exacerbated by the stress associated with extensive coursework and peer pressure to achieve excellent exam grades

Impact of duration of therapy on side effect profile of anti-HCV protocol: A retrospective cohort study from two tertiary health facilities in Pakistan

Purpose: To evaluate the plausible risks and adverse effects related to the duration of therapy in hepatitis C (HCV) patients in Lahore, Pakistan.Method: A retrospective observational study involving 250 HCV patients who received combination therapy with ribavirin and interferon was conducted. The patients were segregated into two groups on the basis of duration of therapy (≤ 6 months and > 6 months). Adverse effect profiles of patients under treatment were collected using a pre-validated questionnaire and compared using Pearson’s Chi- Square Test/Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit tests and unpaired t-test.Results: Patients who underwent treatment for ≤ 6 months frequently encountered side-effects such as GIT disturbance (23.77 %) and joint pains (29.63 %). Additionally, diabetes mellitus (27.86 %) and frequent injections (74.59 %) were the most commonly observed co-morbid condition and disease risk, respectively. On the other hand, in patients who underwent therapy for > 6 months, skin disorders (30.46 %) and gastric acidity (10.15 %) were the most frequently observed side-effects with less frequent reporting on co-morbid conditions and disease risk factors. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in body weight (p = 0.03), serum bilirubin (p = 0.0005), albumin (p = 0.003) and triglycerides (p = 0.006) levels due to longer duration of treatment.Conclusion: The data suggest that treatment-related risks are higher among HCV patients on shorter treatment duration whereas adverse events subside in patients on longer duration of therapy (>6 months). Changes in biochemical profile were also more evident in those receiving treatment for periods >6 months.Keywords: Interferon, Ribavirin, Side effects, Duration of therapy, Outcomes of therap

Ethnopharmacological studies of indigenous plants in Kel village, Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Abstract Background This explorative study was undertaken for the first time in Kel village located in the Upper Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The purpose was to document the indigenous knowledge of the native people used in the preparation of herbal medicines. Methods To get the data on traditional uses of medicinal plants, 20 informants were interviewed. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices, i.e., use value (UV), relative frequencies of citation (RFC), informant consensus factor (Fic), fidelity level (FL), data matrix ranking (DMR), preference ranking (PR), and jaccard index (JI), were calculated for the recorded medicinal plants. Results A total of 50 medicinal plants belonging to 33 families used in 13 disease categories were documented. Leaves were the frequently used plant parts, and decoction was the commonly used method for herbal medicine. Plants with high use value were Berberis lycium (2.05), Impatiens glandulifera (1.95), Artemisia scoparia (1.75), Ageratum conozoides (1.75), and Achillea millefolium (1.7). The highest RFC value was calculated for Berberis lycium (0.75), Cynoglossum lanceolatum (0.65), and Impatiens glandulifera and Achillea millefolium (0.60 each). The maximum informant consensus factor was for urinary system, cardiac diseases, baldness, and abortion and miscarriage (1.00). Berberis lyceum (95%) used in jaundice, hepatitis, typhoid, fever, and tuberculosis disorders. Plants with maximum fidelity level (FL) were Berberis lycium (95%) followed by Dioscorea bulbifera, Impatiens glandulifera, and Artemisia vulgaris (90%). Olea ferruginea was the most multipurpose plant and exports (21.2%) was the leading threat in the area. The pearson correlation coefficient (0.500) showed a positive correlation between the use value and relative frequency of citation. Conclusion The present study provides useful information about traditional uses of medicinal plants used by local communities in different ailments. The plants with the highest use values could be employed in pharmacological research and biotechnological approaches in order to achieve adequate revenue. Some of the plants in the study area are facing high threats of becoming rare, and conservation initiatives are needed to conserve them for sustainable management in the region