Molecular Genetic Analysis of Human Hypertension

Hypertension is a major public health problem affecting approximately 15-20% of adult western populations, and is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and death due to cerebral haemorrage, cardiac failure and kidney disease. Evidence from twin studies, population-based epidemiological studies and adoption studies, demonstrate hypertension is inherited as a multifactorial polygenic trait, where several different genes may be involved in the regulation of blood pressure and the development of high blood pressure. The specific genes involved however are not known, and several potential candidate genes have been identified based on animal and human studies. In the present study the candidate gene approach was employed to identify genetic determinants of high blood pressure in four groups of offspring with contrasting predispositions to high blood pressure; Group A (high offspring blood pressure, low parental blood pressure), Group B (high offspring blood pressure and high parental blood pressure), Group C (low offspring blood pressure and low parental blood pressure) and Group D (low offspring blood pressure high parental blood pressure), in parents with high and low blood pressures and in affected and unaffected sibling pairs. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

Surgical Outcome of Traumatic Posterior Fossa Extradural Hematoma in Paediatric Population: Our Experience at UCHS, The Children’s Hospital, Lahore

Objective:  Most common location for Extradural hematoma (EDH) is within the supratentorial region. The incidence of Posterior fossa extradural hematoma (PFEDH) is1.2% to 12.9% of all EDH. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the management, clinical outcomes, and epidemiological features of posterior fossa EDH. Materials and Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted at the department of pediatric neurosurgery Children Hospital and the University of child health sciences, Lahore from September 2021 to December 2021. Thirty patients presented with posterior fossa extradural hematoma in the pediatric age group were included. A plain CT scan Brain with the bone window was done for initial diagnosis to assess any injury in the posterior fossa including volume of hematoma and any associated fracture. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was used to evaluate the outcome. Results:  Twenty-five patients were surgically treated, and five patients were managed conservatively. There was no mortality observed and the overall results were good in all the patients. Conclusion:  As compared to supratentorial extradural hematoma the Posterior fossa epidural hematoma is uncommon. For all suspected cases early and serial CT scans must be carried out. There was an excellent prognosis in pediatric patients who underwent surgical management

Management of Post Traumatic Epilepsy in Pediatric Population in Pakistan

Objective:  To investigate the efficacy of seizure prophylaxis in the prevention of early and late-onset seizures after the traumatic brain injury known as post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). Material and Methods:  A retrospective study was performed on children aged 0 to < 12 years who were presented to a level 1 trauma center during the six months with the diagnosis of mild to severe TBI. Data included is of 66 patients from Children’s Hospital, Lahore. It was analyzed according to a patient’s demographic data, mechanism of injury, clinical and radiological presentation, management, and follow-up. History of seizures was tracked through guardian referral or staff witnesses. Results:  Among 66 pediatric cases of acute brain injury from June 2019 to December 2019, 45 were males (68%) and 21 were females (32%) with a male to female ratio of 2:1. The mean age in our study was 3.8 years. 60% of children were managed under observation, 30% of children required medical pharmacological treatment, 9% of children needed surgical intervention, and 13% of children required artificial ventilation. Overall mortality is 4.5%. In our study, we found a considerable relationship between residual neurological deficits and severity of injury (p = 0.3), there is no noteworthy relationship between mechanism of injury and outcome (p = 0.5). The mean length of stay was 3.9 days but 60% of patients had stayed less than 3 days. Conclusion:  Analyzing the underlying mechanisms of post-traumatic epilepsy can lead us to propose effective treatments to prevent seizures following traumatic brain injury

Breast cancer management pathways during the COVID-19 pandemic: outcomes from the UK ‘Alert Level 4’ phase of the B-MaP-C study

Abstract: Background: The B-MaP-C study aimed to determine alterations to breast cancer (BC) management during the peak transmission period of the UK COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of these treatment decisions. Methods: This was a national cohort study of patients with early BC undergoing multidisciplinary team (MDT)-guided treatment recommendations during the pandemic, designated ‘standard’ or ‘COVID-altered’, in the preoperative, operative and post-operative setting. Findings: Of 3776 patients (from 64 UK units) in the study, 2246 (59%) had ‘COVID-altered’ management. ‘Bridging’ endocrine therapy was used (n = 951) where theatre capacity was reduced. There was increasing access to COVID-19 low-risk theatres during the study period (59%). In line with national guidance, immediate breast reconstruction was avoided (n = 299). Where adjuvant chemotherapy was omitted (n = 81), the median benefit was only 3% (IQR 2–9%) using ‘NHS Predict’. There was the rapid adoption of new evidence-based hypofractionated radiotherapy (n = 781, from 46 units). Only 14 patients (1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during their treatment journey. Conclusions: The majority of ‘COVID-altered’ management decisions were largely in line with pre-COVID evidence-based guidelines, implying that breast cancer survival outcomes are unlikely to be negatively impacted by the pandemic. However, in this study, the potential impact of delays to BC presentation or diagnosis remains unknown

First Steps to Decolonising the Veterinary Curriculum

No abstract available

Development of an Efficient Non-Noble Metal Based Anode Electrocatalyst to Promote Methanol Oxidation Activity in DMFC

In this research, electrocatalytic activity of cobalt benzene tricarboxylic acid metal organic framework (Co BTC MOF) and its reduced graphene oxide based composites (rGO/Co BTC) were investigated in an alkaline media for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Metal Organic frameworks (MOF) and their composites were solvothermally prepared and characterized via FTIR, EDX, SEM and XRD. Electrochemical studies were performed by cyclic voltammetry, electron impedance spectroscopy, chronoamperometry and cyclic stability. Among all the prepared composites, 1 wt % rGO/Co BTC MOF (1.07 mg cm(-2)) demonstrated a promising current density of 130 mA cm(-2) at 1.59 V vs. RHE, a tafel slope of 83.6 mV dec(-1) and resistance of 14.75 omega in 1 M NaOH/ 2 M methanol solution showing much better performance than state-of-the-art Pt based materials

E-Learning: Justifications and Obstacles

Many educational institutions have adopted E-Learning system or are thinking to adopt it in their educational systems. As a nearly recent system, many do not know the exact meaning of E-Learning, or why should it be used? After using it, will the institution face any problems? And what are the best solutions for these problems? This paper aims to answer all the above questions. In addition, it discusses the ways to transform traditional learning systems to E-Learning, and how to measure the advantages of this transformation. Finally, the students' views of E-Learning show that they prefer e-learning over traditional system

Social Media Addiction and Healthy Life Habits: A Comparative Study of New York City - USA and Lahore - Pakistan

Purpose: Developing comparative analysis between negative and positive health habits among young adults in wake of social media usage among youth in Lahore – Pakistan and New York, USA, is the core objective of this research. Different parameters applied on habits of young adults due to social media usage revealed excessive use of social media was resulting into negative effects on healthy habits of young adults in Pakistan, wherein social media was the least preference in USA. The purpose of the study was achieved to great extent. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study employed in-depth interviews qualitative method to extract detailed opinions about the phenomenon under exploration. In-depth interview technique seemed the most appropriate method for qualitative studies for data collection. Findings: A massive gulf between social media consuming habits of Pakistani and Americans owing to multiple factors was established from this study. With the support of relevant stakeholders including cellular companies, prominent figures of society and Tech icons in USA has chalked out a comprehensive social-structural mechanism for wellbeing of the society at large particularly the young adults wherein the developing nations including Pakistan has least concern about this important component of social wellbeing. Implications/Originality/Value: The US citizens love to enjoy through physical activities i.e., plan weekends and other events and even they avoid using cell phones / social media while dinning collectively at restaurants. In Lahore, however, the youngsters have developed negative social media usage habits which are highly affecting their healthy lifestyle.                                                         &nbsp

Early nutrition and phenotypic development: ‘catch-up’ growth leads to elevated metabolic rate in adulthood

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is responsible for up to 50% of total energy expenditure, and so should be under strong selection pressure, yet it shows extensive intraspecific variation and a low heritability. Environmental conditions during growth are thought to have long-term effects through ‘metabolic programming’. Here we investigate whether nutritional conditions early in life can alter RMR in adulthood, and whether this is due to growth acceleration or the change in diet quality that prompts it. We manipulated dietary protein levels during the main growth period of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) such that an episode of poor nutrition occurred with and without growth acceleration. This produced different growth trajectories but a similar adult body mass. Only the diet that induced growth acceleration resulted in a significant (19%) elevation of RMR at adulthood, despite all the birds having been on the same diet after the first month. This is the first study to show that dietary-induced differences in growth trajectories can have a long-term effect on adult metabolic rate. It suggests that modification of metabolic efficiency may be one of the mechanisms mediating the observed long-term costs of accelerated growth, and indicates links between early nutrition and the metabolic syndrome

Development of Nickel-BTC-MOF-Derived Nanocomposites with rGO Towards Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol and Its Product Analysis

In this study, electrochemical oxidation of methanol to formic acid using the economical and highly active catalytic Nickel Benzene tricarboxylic acid metal organic framework (Ni-BTC-MOF) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites modified glassy carbon electrode GCE in alkaline media, which was examined via cyclic voltammetry technique. Nickel based MOF and rGO nanocomposites were prepared by solvothermal approach, followed by morphological and structural characterization of prepared samples through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The electrochemical testing of synthesized materials represents the effect of the sequential increase in rGO concentration on electrocatalytic activity. The Ni-BTC/4 wt % rGO composite with a pronounced current density of 200.22 mA/cm2 at 0.69 V versus Hg/HgO electrode at 50 mV/s was found to be a potential candidate for methanol oxidation in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) applications. Product analysis was carried out through Gas Chromatography (GC) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which confirmed the formation of formic acid during the oxidation process, with approximately 62% yield