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Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare demographic profile in Tuberculosis and Non- Tuberculosis individuals. We also aimed to compare divalent metal ions in tuberculosis and Non-Tuberculosis Individuals Methods: This case control study was carried out on 345 subjects. Sample size was calculated through open EPI. Patients were grouped into two categories i.e., Pulmonary Tuberculosis (cases group) with 115 patients and without Pulmonary Tuberculosis (control group) with 230 subjects. Demographic Profile was recorded through already designed proforma. 5 ml sterile gel tube was used to collect blood samples. The samples, which were then centrifuged, and the serum were examined to check the levels of iron and copper. Data was evaluated using SPSS version 25.00. Results: Male patients in productive age groups are more likely to have TB in comparison of female patient. In comparison of patient with normal serum copper, patient with serum copper below normal are less likely for TB and patient with serum copper above normal are more likely to develop TB. Patient with serum iron below normal are also more likely to develop TB in comparison of patients with normal serum iron. Conclusion: Male patients in productive age groups were commonly affected with tuberculosis. In tuberculosis patients, a low serum iron concentrations along with significantly high concentration of serum of copper were found. Subsequently, it may increase the human susceptibility to the infection of mycobacterium tuberculosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant components have been extensively evaluated for their pharmacological activities. This study provides scientific rationale towards the therapeutic effect of Eucalyptus camaldulensis aqueous bark extract against induced atherosclerosis and hyperlipidemia in pigeons. Phytochemical components of Eucalyptus bark extract possess a great antioxidant activity that potentially reduced the risk of heart diseases. A total of 42 Pigeons of both sexes were distributed into negative control (fed normal grain diet), hyperlipidemic control (fed HFD 1% animal fat oil and 0.1% cholesterol for 3 months), test groups of variable doses (0.05, 0.1, 0.2 to 0.4 gms/kg BW for 21 days) and the group received atorvastatin daily after induction used. At the end of the experiment biochemical and histological evaluation has been performed. After HFD induction the serum levels of liver enzyme AST, glucose, urea, cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, and TG were significantly increased with the reduction in HDL levels. The atherogenic index was also found significantly raised. Microscopic examination of the liver and aorta showed the appearance of lipid-filled foam cells all over the liver parenchyma and intima after the HFD induction. Thus it was concluded that Eucalyptus aqueous bark extract can be effective against atherosclerosis and hyperlipidemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and serotonin transporter (SERT) is implicated in the adverse life events which lead to depression. The variation in genetic make-up of BDNF (Val66Met) and SERT (5'-HTTLPR) are potential biomarkers in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders including depression. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation of functional polymorphisms of BDNF and SERT genes with depression among Pakistani population. A total of 373 participants (204 cases with depressive episodes and 169 healthy controls) with age between 14 and 65yrs were recruited from Pakistani population. BDNF and SERT gene polymorphisms were genotyped using PCR-RFLP analysis. The result showed that lack of association of Val66Met (χ²: 3.596, p>0.05) and 5'-HTTLPR (χ²: 0.634, p>0.05) gene polymorphisms were found with depression. However, SERT 'SL' (OR: 1.150, 95%CI: 0.601- 2.201) and BDNF 'AA' (OR: 1.651, 95%CI: 0.585-4.660) and 'GA' (OR: 2.279, 95%CI: 0.825-6.298) genotypes might be a risk genotypes for depression. Hence, it is concluded that the functional BDNF (Val66Met) and SERT (5'-HTTLPR) gene polymorphisms may not be associated with depression. Replication studies on these polymorphisms with large sample size are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory distress has become a hot issue that is causing severe infection in livestock industry of Pakistan. The exact and timely diagnosis is incredible to treat the disease. However, Acholeplasma (A.) laidlawii is found very significant from buffalo lungs but being a ubiquitous organism, its pathogenic description is not completely understood. The study was designed to validate the involvement of A. laidlawii in respiratory diseases in buffaloes. For this purpose, experimental trials on mice were conducted to confirm the involvement of the organism in respiratory tract infection. It was re-isolated from experimentally infected mice, showing lesions in respiratory tract (83.3%), proving Koch's postulates. Statistically, the experimental group-A (subcutaneous route) showed significant difference (P<0.05) except in case of mortality feature. The group-B (intraperitoneal route) indicated non-significant difference (P>0.05) in all cases. Based on current study, it may be concluded that the organism is opportunistic, and can produce either disease or lesions on targeted organs in stressed animals, particularly buffaloes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was aimed at evaluating various biological actions of widely consumed Areca catechu nut. The nut's ethanolic extract exhibited cytotoxicity (lung cancer cell line), embryotoxicity (chick embryo), phytotoxicity (Lemna minor), insecticidal (Rhyzopertha dominica), anti-bacterial (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), anti-fungal (Microsporum canis) and mitogenic (human blood lymphocytes) actions. The standardization results revealed presence of 1.7 μg arecoline per mg of extract. In conclusion, the Areca nut is endowed with both harmful and beneficial biological actions. Keeping in view its wide consumption and ease of availability, the aforesaid information should be channelized for health and agricultural benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to assess the levels of adipokine and their relation to gestational diabetic related clinical phenotypes and fetal growth parameters.Material and Methods: International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study criteria was used to classify gestational diabetic cases (n = 208) and euglycemic controls (n = 300). ELISA assays were performed for insulin, chemerin, leptin, and interleukin-18 (IL-18). Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square/Fisher exact test, multiple regression analyses, and ROC curves were applied with significant p values of <0.05.Results: Levels of chemerin, IL-18, and leptin were seven-, four-, and five-folds higher in cases versus controls, respectively (p < 0.01). The adipokine showed strong positive correlation with fasting blood glucose, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, and fetal weight (p < 0.01). Odds of GDM association remained significant for chemerin (OR 1.522; 1.097-2.110) and leptin (OR 2.579; 1.503-4.425) while all associations were lost for IL-18 (p > 0.05) after multiple adjustments. Raised chemerin levels were identified in 96% cases (n = 201) employing the proposed cut off value >15.49 ng/ml.Conclusion: High chemerin and leptin levels are seen in GDM which may be associated with subclinical inflammation suggesting a role in development of insulin resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate potential of high sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs- CRP) and serum uric acid as markers of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Study design: Case control study. Place and duration: Conducted at department of physiology, university of Karachi, from January 2015 to September 2015. Material and methods: Study was conducted on 88 subjects both men and women divided in two groups 44 normal controls and 44 subjects ofMetS (IDF criteria), aged between 20-40 years. Anthropometric measurements, lipid profile, hs-CRP and serum uric acid were performed. Data were analyzed on SPSS version 22. P <0.05 is regarded as significant. Results: hs-CRP was detected significantly higher in MetS cases as compared to controls (5.43±1.3 vs 1.47± 1.2 mg/ L,P=000 in men and 4.64± 1.2 vs 1.78± 1.4 mg/L,p=000 in women).Partial correlation analysis indicated positive correlation of hs-CRP with body mass index (BMI), r=745, waist circumference (WC) r=0.689, Systolic blood pressure(SBP) r=0.578, Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) r=0.508, fasting blood glucose (FBG) r=0.784, serum insulin r=0.804 with p< 0.001 in men and BMI r=0.701, serum insulin r=0.765, p< 0.001; WC r=0.599, DBP r=0.446 p<0.05 in women. Significant negative correlation was seen with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in both sexes. AUC (Area under curve) for ROC (Receiver operating characteristic) curvewas significant with p< 0.05 in each, men and women. Serum uric acid level was significantly higher in subjects as compared to controls (5.13± 0.6 vs 3.94± 0.5 mg/dl,p=000 in men and 5.21± 0.3 vs 4.3± 0.6 mg/dl, p=000 in women).Partial correlation analysis presented positive correlation with BMI r=0.804,WC r=0.784, FBG r=565,HOMA-IR r=0.652, serum insulin r=0.672 with p<0.001 in men and BMI r=0.853,FBG r=0.798, serum insulin r=0.862, HOMA-IR r= 0.854,WC r=0.759 with p < 0.001, DBP r=0.384 with p <0.05 in women. AUC for ROC curve was significant with p value <0.05 in both men and women. Conclusion: Analysis of study data shows that hs-CRP and uric acid have the potential for prediction of MetS, in either sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The increased prevalence of adverse effects of altered thyroid functions in pregnancy inspired us to study the frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and the relationship with glycaemic control and foetal weight in pregnant females with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Pakistani population.Patients and Methods: Five hundred and eight pregnant females were enrolled and grouped as per the International Diabetes Association criteria into GDM (n = 208) and healthy control (n = 300). Random blood glucose (RBG), thyroid function tests, anthropometric analysis and foetal ultra sound scans were performed on all study subjects. Data were analysed using Mann-Whitney U test and Chi-square test wherever applicable. Spearman correlation and multiple regression analysis were performed. p values of <0.05 was considered significant.Results: A total of 61.5% GDM subjects depicted SCH with normal circulating T4 and T3 versus 6.0% healthy controls (p-value < 0.001). Moreover, TSH remained independently associated with RBG (r = 0.109; p < 0.05), poor glycaemic control (r = 0.227; p < 0.001) and negatively associated with foetal growth (r = -0.206; p < 0.001).Conclusion: The detection of high TSH with normal T3 and T4 in females with GDM strongly emphasises the need of thyroid screening as a routine in all antenatal clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which aims to characterize and isolate strains of Newcastle disease (ND) virus, also known as Avian Paramyxovirus type 1, in South Asia. The study was conducted on 84 samples from commercial poultry flocks in the suburbs of Karachi, Pakistan from 1995 to 2009. The study involves molecular identification using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) which was performed using viral RNA from infective allantoic fluid. The results show that majority of isolates were either velogenic or mesogenic strains based on intra cerebral pathogenicity indices and the mean death time. Furthermore, it concludes that ND, which remains endemic, requires attention similar to that given to highly pathogenic avian influenza.