Search

Background: Candidate gene approach based on case-control model is a valuable strategy to determined disease related genetic variants. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms rs1800469 and rs2241715 in TGF-ß1gene have been reported to affect the asthmatic status in different populations. The main focus of this research was to find any relationship between these SNPs and asthma in Pakistani population. Methods: Using case-control model, a total of 108 individuals including 52 asthma patients and 56 healthy controls were screened to find asthma susceptibility of variants rs1800469 and rs2241715. These SNPs were genotyped using SNaPshot minisequencing assay followed by capillary electrophoresis using ABI 3130xl genetic analyzer platform. The statistical analysis of genetic data was performed by using SPSS 21, SHEsis online platform and SNPStats online web software. Results: No association with asthma was seen in allelic model for both SNPs but genotypes analyzed under codominant, dominant, over dominant and recessive models of inheritance revealed that SNP rs2241715 is strongly associated with asthma under genotypic model. Conclusion: rs2241715 was found to be a genetic risk factor for asthma in Pakistani population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxiellosis caused by Coxiella burnetii is a cosmopolitan zoonosis, which causes significant losses through abortions and stillbirths in small ruminants. A cross-sectional seroprevalence study was conducted in two major sheep and goat farming districts of Punjab (Layyah and Muzaffargarh), Pakistan. In total, 542 small ruminants (271 sheep and goats each) of both sexes (60 males and 482 females) of different age groups from 104 flocks (52 flocks of either species) were randomly selected for the collection of sera and related epidemiological information. The sampling plan was devised at the expected prevalence of 50%, confidence interval (CI) of 95%, and error margin of 5%. A commercial indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA; ID Vet) was used to test the samples for the presence of both phase I and II antibodies. A high herd level prevalence (73.1%, 95% CI 63.5-81.3) was recorded in the studied districts. Individual level seroprevalence was recorded as 30.8% (95% CI 26.9-34.9). Higher value was recorded in females (32%) when compared with males (21.7%). Higher prevalence (34.8%, 95% CI 21.4-50.2) was observed in animals of 1 year (nulliparous) than to primiparous (24.8%, 95% CI 17.4-33.5) and multiparous (32.3%, 95% CI 27.6-37.3) animals. Univariable analysis indicated that caprine species (odds ratio [OR] 1.96, p = 0.22), females (OR = 1.70, p = 0.104), infestation with ticks (OR = 234.39, p < 0.001), abortion history (OR 1.96, p = 0.14), retention of fetal membranes (OR 1.50, p = 0.35), keeping a single breed in a herd (OR 1.50, p = 0.56), and mixed feeding management (OR 1.37, p = 0.33) were the variables found associated with high prevalence of antibodies to C. burnetii. The study indicates that seroprevalence of coxiellosis was high in the studied small ruminant population and further studies are required to discern its epidemiology more precisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the role of newspapers in health policy making in Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan in terms of population, with nearly 56% of the country's entire population. For the inclusive progress of socio-economic facet of the general public, government should give top priority to the investment in the heath sector. Health is the second biggest public sector when it comes to physical infrastructure and human capital in Punjab. Health sector of Punjab is faced with numerous anomalies and the government has been undertaking reforms with intervals. Announcement of health policy is an important initiation for government's plan for the advancement of health sector, in this regard how the media and in case of this study, newspapers, impact health policy making. Newspapers provide a channel which is used by the policy makers to make promises and deliver intentions. Public's Feedback is an essential part of this process and is under investigation in this study. Newspapers can set the direction for public's welfare by covering a specific matter and overlooking the other. With regard to this function of the newspapers this research endeavors to discover the role newspapers in health policy making by adopting the technique of content analysis of four sampled newspapers for the period of six months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social sector development in Pakistan has been the focus of researchers over the past decades but coverage of these services still remains limited. Although considerable resources have been allocated for social service delivery, people at large have suffered from existing inequalities in the delivery of these services. Utilising the MICS 2007-08 data set, we look at the prevailing inequalities in access to education, health, and physical infrastructure across the districts of Punjab. We highlight the weaknesses of public institutions in providing social services and acknowledge the contribution of the private sector in improving access to these services. The paper emphasises the need for an adequate allocation of resources by the provincial government to the districts in order to remove the growing inequalities within districts and between districts. An effective approach for funds disbursement from the provinces to the districts should be based on the current level of access to social services. This paper attempts to establish a rationalised methodology for funds distribution at the district level, so that a larger population has access to basic services. The outcome of declining inequality in social service delivery will help the lot of lagging districts, and may limit inter-district migration to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]