Infections in post stroke setting: a study from The neurology section of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

Stroke is one of the commonest neurological disorders, contributing to the major burden of inpatient and outpatient neurology services. Infections after the stroke are the major factor, contributingto prolonged hospital stay and poor outcome in term of increasing morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to define the different types of infections in post stroke patients and their impact on the outcome of patients with stroke. METHOD: This is a descriptive, cross sectional study, that was carried out in the section of Neurology, Department of Medicine at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi over the span of one year. The strokes were classified as either ischemic or hemorrhagic. Different types of infections i.e. chest infections, urinary tract infections,, phlebitis, cellulitis and others were noted and the risk factors associated with their occurrence were identified. Data was entered and analyzed on SPSS 23. RESULTS: 104 patients with the diagnosis of acute stroke, who developed infections at least 48 hours after their presentation, were identified. There were sixty (58%) male and forty-four (42 %) females. Sixty-four (61.5%) of patients had a diagnosis of ischemic stroke, while thirty-six (34.6%) had hemorrhagic strokes, while data was missing in 4(3.8%)cases about the type of stroke. The commonest infection was Aspiration pneumonia, accounting for seventy-two (69%) of patients, followed by Urinary tract infections, that was found in fifty-six (54%) of the patients. Significant association of aspiration pneumonia with the level of consciousness was found. CONCLUSION: Stroke is one of the commonest neurological disorders. Ischemic strokes accounts for almost 2/3rd. of the stroke.The commonest infection was Aspiration pneumonia, accounting for seventy-two(69%) of patients, followed by Urinary tract infections, that was found in fifty-six (54%) of the patients. Significant association of aspiration pneumonia with the level of consciousness was found

Silencing of the AV2 gene by antisense RNA protects transgenic plants against a bipartite begomovirus

Whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses (genus Begomovirus) are phytopathogens that cause heavy losses to crops worldwide. Efforts to engineer resistance against these viruses are focused mainly on silencing of complementary-sense virus genes involved in virus replication. Here we have targeted a virion-sense gene (AV2) to develop resistance against Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus, a bipartite begomovirus prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent. We show that tobacco plants transformed with an antisense construct targeting this gene are resistant to the virus. Following challenged with the virus, transgenic plants remained symptomless, although viral DNA could be detected in some plants by PCR. This is the first report of transgenic resistance against a bipartite begomovirus obtained by targeting a virion-sense gene. The relatively conserved nature of the gene suggests that the technology may be useful to develop broad-spectrum resistance which is required because of the fact that plants are often infected with multiple begomoviruses in the field

Yield and water productivity of rice as influenced by responsive drip irrigation, alternate wetting and drying versus conventional flooding under silty loam soil texture

Rice is a semi-aquatic crop, thus demands waterlogged condition in root zone, hence farmers generally puddle the land before transplanting to control deep drainage losses, which is destructive to the soil physical, chemical and biological health. Addressing these issues, this research study evaluated the yield and water productivity (WP) benefits of rice (PK 1121) for the un-puddled alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and responsive drip irrigation (RDI) against the conventional flooding (CF) with puddling, as control during 2021, using randomized complete block design with three replicates. The results indicated significantly less (p ≤ 0.05) irrigation application (76% < CF) but with larger (18%) yield trade-off for the RDI treatment. Although, the AWD treatment showed comparatively less water saving (32% < CF) but resulted relatively higher yield (4% > CF). Nevertheless, the WP of RDI was significantly higher (249% > CF) but reduction in irrigation application was the main contributor. In contrast, both higher yield and reduced irrigation contributed to the higher WP (52% > CF) of AWD treatment. The study shows the prospects of increased WP by AWD at convenience and less cost, than the RDI system for PK 1121 rice variety. However, increasing the water release capacity of RDI or using drought tolerant variety may increase the WP of rice under RDI system at no yield trade-off, which may be instrumental for growing rice without puddling in the water scarce areas of the country

A study of English teachers and students’ perception about the differences between annual and semester system of education at postgraduate level in Mardan

AbstractThis research study tried to seek the perception of English teachers and students’ about the differences between Annual and Semester system in terms of students’ learning strategies at postgraduate level. A public sector university in Mardan (established in February 2009) provided the researchers a population who were new to Semester system and who had been seeking education in Annual system before joining it. In order to achieve the objective of the study, a questionnaire was distributed among a randomly selected 120 students having experience of both the educational systems, and interviews with 10 teachers were conducted to record their perception towards both systems of education.The analysis of the data got from both the tools showed that there was found a significant difference between Annual and Semester system in terms of students learning strategies. In Annual system students used to get ample time to master the target subjects, whereas in Semester system, the students had to synthesize the subjects and were not only made to undergo rigorous evaluation in terms of both intellectual and emotional growth

Effects of extraction system on antioxidant attributes of mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek]

The effects of three extraction techniques (shaking, soaking, and stirring) and two solvents (80% methanol and 80% ethanol) on the antioxidant attributes of extracts from seeds of mungbean have been investigated. The yield of mungbean extracts varied between 6.90 and 9.65 g/100 g of dry matter. Mungbean extracts contained a considerable amount of phenolics (0.78–1.12 g GAE/100 g) and flavonoids (1.23–1.78 g CE/100 g). An appreciable level of reducing power (1.46–2.18) at 10 mg/mL extract concentration, inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation (85.2–90.4%), and DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 value 16.4–42.9 μg/mL) were also documented. Overall, the efficacy of an extraction system in isolating potent antioxidant components from mungbean seeds followed the order: shaking, 80% methanol > shaking, 80% ethanol > stirring, 80% methanol > stirring, 80% ethanol > soaking, 80% ethanol > soaking, 80% methanol. The yield and antioxidant activity of the mungbean extracts varied significantly (p < 0.05) as function of extraction techniques and solvents employed

Spontaneous uterine rupture secondary to morbidly adherent placenta in an unscarred uterus

We report a case of spontaneous uterine rupture in a primigravida with an unscarred uterus, which was secondary to morbidly adherent placenta proven on surgery and histology. Although rare, uterine rupture should be considered as a differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain in pregnancies, especially when associated with free fluid, even with the absence of vaginal bleeding. Abnormal placentation is associated with spontaneous antepartum uterine rupture even in early pregnancy. Most cases in the literature have advocated emergency hysterectomy to arrest life-threatening hemorrhage

Invasive retroperitoneal infection due to basidiobolus ranarum with response to potassium lodide: Case report and review of the literature

We report a case of invasive retroperitoneal zygomycotic infection caused by Basidiobolus ranarum in a healthy 8-year-old boy. The youngster responded dramatically to potassium iodide. The clinical and pathological features are reviewed to highlight the problems encountered in the management of this rare infection

The Problem Of Adverse Selection In Business Education

The quality of output from a process, to a substantial extent, depends upon quality of the input. The performance of an educational institution badly suffers when it faces a ‘wear out’ in the quality of its in-take. Sometimes it is a deficient induction criterion due to which inappropriate elements hold majority in admitted population of an institution. In this paper, the case of a business education institute, which has been facing a similar problem, is discussed. The authors construct various propositions concerning the relevant ‘concepts of interest’ and then gauge their truth value through a survey of archival records of admitted students with an intent of establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between admission policy and the students’ academic performance