Level of Psychological Adjustment and Intolerance Uncertainty among Heart Surgery Patients

To perceive the association among psychological adjustment and intolerance uncertainty among heart surgery patients, the present research was conducted. On the basis of purposive sampling method, a sample of 100 was chosen. These patients of BVH, completed the questionnaire forms. From BVH, the sample was purposively selected. By enumerating the percentages, the gathered data was examined and the interpretation was obtained on the base of findings of each type of questionnaire. For examining the data, descriptive statistics, correlation; SPSS was used. On the basis of findings and conclusion, the endorsement was drawn. Among researchers, psychological adjustment is increasingly getting popular as for analyzing behavior, conflicts, obstacles and misrepresenting varied social involvements that pupil go through as executive at workplaces and intolerance uncertainty investigation cogitative, profundity of future uncertainty as intimidating about their disease. Furthermore, there was a pessimistic association among psychological adjustment and intolerance uncertainty

Sorghum an Important Annual Feedstock for Bioenergy

Plant-based renewable biofuels guarantee sustainable solutions to food and energy demands. High-biomass C4 grasses including sugarcane, corn, and sorghum are potential candidates for bioenergy. Among these, sorghum enjoys the status of a highly diverse food, feed, and biofuel source worldwide. The natural attributes like abiotic stress tolerance, diverse genetic base, viable seed industry, and sound breeding system make sorghum a perfect candidate for establishing an efficient and low-cost biofuel industry. Scientists are exploring ways to exploit forage, sweet, and biomass sorghums as climate-smart energy crops. In this context, conventional breeding has played a significant role in developing high-yielding sorghum varieties. For biomass sorghum, stem compositional analysis helps screen low lignin and high polysaccharide types as feedstocks for biofuels. Recent tools of phenomics, genomics, proteomics, and genome editing are key players of designing eco-friendly bioenergy sorghum. Here, we report stem compositional analysis and proteomics-based evaluation of USDA sorghum germplasm as a baseline to develop sorghum as a biofuel feedstock

Is manual reticulocyte count a reliable option for under resourced countries

OBJECTIVES: To establish the credibility of manual reticulocyte counts without compromising the quality of care, and to evaluate the degree of acceptability of manual reticulocyte counts in terms of accuracy and cost effectiveness in comparison with two automated haematology analyzers. METHODS: Visual reticulocyte enumeration was evaluated for comparability, within-batch precision and costing with respect to Coulter STKS and Gen S haematology analyzers. RESULTS: The results of reticulocyte estimation for 80 samples as obtained by 3 modes were correlated using Pearson\u27s correlation coefficient (r) which were computed as 0.884, 0.875, and 0.793 for manual-Gen.S, Gen.SSTKS and manual-STKS respectively thus showing positive association of these results. STKS had the CV of 10.4% and was more precise compared to Coulter Gen.S (CV = 11.6%) while manual counts showed the least precision with a CV of 19.8%. The cost per test was calculated to be $0.11 for manual technique in contrast to$0.45 for Gen S and $1.09 for STKS. CONCLUSION: Visual counting of reticulocytes can be used as a reliable tool for estimating reticulocytes in resource strained countries as it is not only cost effective but can also efficiently discriminate between high and low reticulocyte ranges which are required for sound clinical judgment

Body mass index or body fat! which is a better obesity scale for Pakistani population?

Ojective: To compare two methods of classifying obesity based on body mass index and body fat percentage.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2012 to August 2013 at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi. Male and female volunteers between the ages 15-65 years were selected using simple random sampling. They were classified into different groups for body mass index and body fat percentage measured through bioelectrical impedance scale. The subjects were sub-grouped into underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. SPSS 11 was used for statistical analysis.Results: The mean age of the 828 healthy volunteers was 25.67±10.10 years. A total of 552 (66.6%) subjects had a higher body fatpercentage and were misclassified by body mass index. Only 276 (33.3%) subjects had body fat percentage values corresponding to the body mass index classification. The difference in terms of categorising obesity was highly significant (p\u3c0.001). Both body mass index and body fat percentage showed positive correlation with age (r=0.144; p=0.001) (r=0.261; p=0.001) and weight (r=0.578; p=0.001) (r=0.444; p=0.001) respectively. Moreover body fat percentage showed a significant positive association with gender (r=0.109; p=0.027) whereas BMI did not.Conclusions: Body fat percentage should be incorporated for a better understanding as well as categorising of obesity

Control of Aflatoxin Production Using Herbal Plant Extract

The aflatoxins are a group of chemically similar poisonous, carcinogenic fungal secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, and A. nomius, which are abundant in warm and humid regions of the world. They are probably the most intensively researched toxins in the world due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. Aflatoxins have also been identified as a potential biological weapon for food and water contamination. The four major aflatoxins commonly isolated from different foods and feed stuffs are AFB1, AF B2, AFG1, and AFG2. Aflatoxin contamination of food and feed has gained global significance as a result of its deleterious effects on human as well as livestock health including gastrointestinal dysfunction, reduced feed utilization, anemia, jaundice, liver damage and immunity suppression. The profitability and marketing of various agricultural products are adversely affected by either contamination of aflatoxins or aflatoxin‐producing fungi. The foods at highest risk of aflatoxin contamination are maize, chilies, peanuts, and cotton seeds. There are various physical, chemical, and natural methods investigated to prevent aflatoxin production and the growth of aflatoxin‐producing fungus in various agricultural products. Here, we describe various natural plant extracts that would be potential source of controlling aflatoxin production in agricultural products

KCNQ1 rs2237895 polymorphism is associated with Gestational Diabetes in Pakistani Women

Background and Objective: Genetic studies on gestational diabetes (GDM) are relatively scarce; moreover, limited data is available for KCNQ1 polymorphism in Pakistani pregnant women. We aimed to determine the frequency of KCNQ1 rs2237895 in GDM and normal pregnant controls and its association with GDM-related phenotypes.Methods: A total of 637 pregnant females (429 controls and 208 cases) in their second trimester were classified according to the International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study criteria in this study. Their blood samples were genotyped for KCNQ1 SNP rs2237895 using PCR-RFLP method and sequencing. Fasting and two hour-post glucose load blood levels, serum HbA1c, insulin, and anthropometric assessment was performed.: Pearson\u27s Chi Square test, Mann- Whitney U test, and regression analyses were performed. A p-value of \u3c 0.05 was considered significant.Results: The variant genotyped was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p \u3e 0.05). The rs2237895 showed an association with GDM (OR 2.281; 1.388-3.746: p \u3c 0.001) and remained significant after multiple adjustments for age and body mass index (OR 2.068; 1.430-2.997: p=0.005). The C allele showed positive association with insulin level, and HOMA-IR in study subjects.Conclusions: This study identifies that KCNQ1 rs2237895 polymorphisms might be associated with risk of GDM in Pakistani population and that it is related to higher glucose levels and insulin resistance. Further large scale studies are required to consolidate on the functional aspect of this polymorphism

Abdominal Hysterectomy for Benign Gynecological Diseases

OBJECTIVES This study aims to assess the Pap smear screening method’s accuracy in detecting precancerous lesions. METHODOLOGY After fulfilling the inclusion criteria patients were selected, the patient’s bladder was emptied and put in a dorsal position, and Cusco’s speculum was introduced after lubrication followed by insertion of Ayer’s spatula, applied on the transformational zone, and rotated in 360 degrees. Specimen smeared on glass slides and sent to the laboratory with fulfilled lab pre-requisite form. Patients were requested to follow up with a histopathology report. RESULTS Mean age of the patient was 38.111+9.461 years. Among the 77 patients whose samples were taken 15.4% were asymptomatic, 32.1% with vaginal discharge, 17.9% vaginal discharge,17.0% with intermenstrual bleeding and 16.7% were having lower abdominal pain with p value=0.087. Histopathology reports were interpreted upon follow-up visit among those 1.3% came out to be positive for malignancy, 76.6% negative for malignancy while 22.1% had an inadequate sample. CONCLUSION The most common method for screening for cervical cancer is the Pap smear, but its efficacy in detecting early precancerous lesions is very low, possibly due to laboratory error or false technique to a gynecologist of sample technique in our tertiary care hospital. Other screening methods should be used instead of conventional Pap smear

Study of Postdatism with Respect to Fetomaternal Outcome at A Tertiary Care Hospital

OBJECTIVES This study aims to know our setup’s fetomaternal pregnancy complications that extend beyond 40 weeks of gestation. METHODOLOGY This is a prospective cross-sectional study of 390 patients with uncomplicated postdated pregnancies fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria admitted to the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (both in spontaneous labour and induced patient) at Hayatabad Medical Complex, a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, KPK from July 2020 to June 2021.RESULTS Out of 390 patients, a majority (72.30 %) were in the age group of 20 – 35 years. Most of them (50.51%) presented at gestation 40+1 – 40+6 weeks. The majority (57.69%) were multigravida, and most (93.07%) were un-booked. Most delivered vaginally (80.51%), and 19.48% had C/section (including both emergency and elective). The most common indication for C/section was fetal distress (44.73%), followed by C/section on demand (18.42%). The majority>90% had Apgar score greater than seven at 5 minutes which was gestation dependent. Overall perinatal mortality was 4.07% which was also gestation dependent ranging from 0.5% at 40+1 – 40+6 weeks to 2.30% at and beyond 42 weeks of gestation. Neonatal morbidity in the form of Birth asphyxia, Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (MAS), Shoulder Dystocia and NICU admission also showed an increasing tendency with increasing gestation beyond 40 weeks. Maternal morbidity in the form of PPH, perineal tears 3°/4° and endometritis also showed a similar increasing trend with increasing gestation beyond 40 weeks. CONCLUSION Pregnancy continuing beyond 40 weeks has a definite risk to the fetus.

Nasolabial Fold Dynamics in Orthodontic Treatment: Extraction versus NonExtraction Perspect

Objective: This study compared the impact of extraction and non-extraction orthodontic therapy on nasolabial folds and provides valuable insights for treatment planning in borderline orthodontic cases. Study Design: A cross-sectional observational study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the Orthodontic Department at Rawal Institute of Health Sciences Islamabad. The duration of the study was eleven months from 2 August 2022 to 3 July 2023. Materials and Methods: The research comprised of 80 patients, divided into 40 cases involving extractions and 40 cases without extraction. Photographs were taken before and after orthodontic treatment and analyzed for the change in the depth of nasolabial folds using the modified Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale. Results were compared between the extraction and non-extraction groups by using the t-test. SPSS version 23 was used to perform statistical analysis. Results: There was a statistically significant reduction in the nasolabial folds' prominence in the non-extraction group (p=.012), whereas the extraction group did not show a statistically significant difference. The pretreatment shallow nasolabial folds changed to moderately deep nasolabial folds in the extraction group in 7.5% of the cases, while 5% of shallow and 5% of deep nasolabial folds converted to absent nasolabial folds in the non-extraction group. Conclusion: Non-extraction orthodontic treatment positively impacted facial aesthetics by reducing theu nasolabial folds' depth. Extraction cases did not show a significant effect on the nasolabial folds. The study emphasizes the importance of personalized treatment planning and comprehensive assessment of the patients regarding soft tissue response

Gestational diabetes mellitus and the predisposing factors

Objective: To evaluate the occurrence of gestational diabetes mellitus and its association with demographic and anthropometric variables in pregnant women.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Memon Hospital in Karachi, from February 2014 to December 2015, and comprised pregnant women who were screened by 75-g 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test, (24-28 weeks of gestation) and classified as per the criteria of the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group. Weight, body mass index and serum glycated haemoglobin levels were measured. Women with pre-gestational diabetes were excluded. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis.Results: Of the 1,210 participants, 208(17.2%) had gestational diabetes, while 1,002(82.8%) did not have the condition. Gestational diabetes was associated with advancing age, deranged glycated haemoglobin, elevated body mass index at booking (p0.05).Conclusions: Pre-existing adiposity and presence of strong family history rendered a considerable number of pregnant women to suffer from gestational diabetes