In Pakistan, avian influenza surveillance has been both active and passive. Here, we present the ... more In Pakistan, avian influenza surveillance has been both active and passive. Here, we present the results of a survey effort focusing solely on the live bird markets and wild bird species from diffe ...
Background and Aim: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a deadly virus of zoonotic potent... more Background and Aim: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a deadly virus of zoonotic potential. The study mainly aims to determine the risk pathways (RPs) for the probable incursion of HPAI virus (HPAIV) in backyard poultry in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: The study involves expert elicitation technique. The concept map determines the possible RPs. The map consists of 16 concepts, each with nodes from which probabilities of an event originates. These probabilities are described by qualitative descriptors ranging from negligible to high. Risk assessment has been performed using the subjective risk assessment tool. Results: The tool demonstrates positive correlation among groups of experts in the level of agreement by scoring RP; however, the level of agreement varies from 71% to 93% among group of experts. The median risk score of viral incursion through the "Exposure of backyard poultry with farm poultry in the trading market" was 11 and ranked as top, followed ...
Artificial cells, nanomedicine, and biotechnology, Jan 7, 2018
The present study was conducted for the optimization of transethosomes formulation for dermal fis... more The present study was conducted for the optimization of transethosomes formulation for dermal fisetin delivery. The optimization of the formulation was carried out using "Box-Behnken design". The independent variables were Lipoid S 100, ethanol and sodium cholate. The prepared formulations were characterized for vesicle size, entrapment efficiency and in vitro skin penetration study. The vesicles-skin interaction, confocal laser scanning microscopy and dermatokinetic studies were performed with optimized formulation. Results of the present study demonstrated that the optimized formulation presented vesicle size of 74.21 ± 2.65 nm, zeta potential of -11.0 mV, entrapment efficiency of 68.31 ± 1.48% and flux of 4.13 ± 0.17 µg/cm/h. The TEM image of optimized formulation exhibited sealed and spherical shape vesicles. Results of thermoanalytical techniques demonstrated that the prepared transethosomes vesicles formulation had fluidized the rigid membrane of rat's skin for s...
The present study was designed to study the quantitative effects of extraction time, temperature ... more The present study was designed to study the quantitative effects of extraction time, temperature and solvent to sample ratio on the yield of polysaccharides (LSP) using a Box-Behnken design. The activities of the optimized LSP extract were then tested in an in vivo experimental system of ()-induced endotoxin shock. The optimal polysaccharide extraction conditions were established by the equation of regression and evaluation of the response surface contour plots: extraction time 5.2 h; temperature 95 °C and ratio of water to raw material 31.89 mL/g. Subsequently, an in vivo endotoxin shock was induced in mice with a single i.p. injection. Septic mice showed a substantial raise in the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in plasma, whereas mice treated with LSP after injection showed considerable lower plasma levels of TNF-α ( < 0.05). These results suggest that LSP have beneficial effects when administered to mice with endotoxin shock by diminishing the pro-inflammatory r...
The main barrier for transdermal delivery is the obstacle property of the stratum corneum. Many t... more The main barrier for transdermal delivery is the obstacle property of the stratum corneum. Many types of chemical penetration enhancers have been used to breach the skin barrier; among the penetration enhancers, terpenes are found as the most highly advanced, safe, and proven category. In the present investigation, the terpenes anethole, menthone, and eugenol were used to enhance the permeation of valsartan through rat skin in vitro and their enhancement mechanism was investigated. Skin permeation studies of valsartan across rat skin in the absence and the presence of terpenes at 1% w/v, 3% w/v, and 5% w/v in vehicle were carried out using the transdermal diffusion cell sampling system across rat skin and samples were withdrawn from the receptor compartment at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 24 h and analysed for drug content by the HPLC method. The mechanism of skin permeation enhancement of valsartan by terpenes treatment was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTI...
Darwin's theory of evolution is the central theme of biology and also all the theories of evo... more Darwin's theory of evolution is the central theme of biology and also all the theories of evolution. Paleontology (study of fossils) provides the convincing, direct and clear-cut evidences for evolution. Darwin declared: " he, who rejects these views on the nature of geological record, would rightly reject his whole theory " . However, diverse literature confirmed that the more common plant fossils are imprints of leaves and are identical to their existing forms. Invertebrate rare form fossils but those formed are identical to their presented form. The entire vertebrate fossils are fragmentary bones. For example, fossils of dinosaurs are thigh bones, arm bones, teeth, footprints, bites etc; fossils of ancestors of humans are skull fragments, teeth, jaws etc. Transitional fossil is absent. Claimed transitional fossils of Archaeopteryx and Seymouria are not transitional at all; they are true bird and true reptile, respectively. Darwin himself declared there is no transit...
The study was conducted to assess the clinico-pathological profile of 50 liver abscess cases. Thi... more The study was conducted to assess the clinico-pathological profile of 50 liver abscess cases. This study showed that liver abscess is more common in male than in female. In present study Amoebic Liver Abscess (ALA) is much more common than Pyogenic Liver Abscess (PLA) and almost all the cases belonged to low or medium socio-economic class from rural areas. This may be due to poor living conditions, over crowding and unhygienic practices which leads to fecal contamination of food and drinks which help in transmission of amoeba. Liver abscess has correlation with consumption of indigenous alcohol. Ultrasonogram is an easy, widely available non-invasive and dependable investigation to diagnose liver abscess. In the absence of sophisticated investigations (e.g. Serum antibody against amoeba) at hand, only aspiration and study of pus is a good guide to confirm and to differentiate ALA from PLA. Complications like recurrence, pleuro-peritoneal involvement or rupture of the abscess are not...
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad : JAMC
Exercise is one of the most common precipitant of acute asthma encountered in clinical practice. ... more Exercise is one of the most common precipitant of acute asthma encountered in clinical practice. To determine frequency of Exercise-induced Bronchospasm (EIB) in male athletes, who had represented or were aspiring to represent at national and/or international level. Athletes of different departments and institutes, district, provincial and national squad who were residing, practicing and attending training camps at Karachi during November 2000 to January 2002 were included. It's an observational study on the frequency of EIB in athletes. A 21-item structured and pre-tested questionnaire was given for personal, biological and environmental information and an acquaintance session was conducted with each athlete to explain the procedure. Six minutes of competitive field free running Peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate, pulse rate and oxygen saturation were measured at 5-min, 15-min and 30-min. A player was considered EIB positive based on a post exercise decrement in PEF rate > or =...
Deficiencies in the alveolar ridges cause multiple problems in achieving aesthetic and functional... more Deficiencies in the alveolar ridges cause multiple problems in achieving aesthetic and functional outcome of implant therapy and are commonly restored by using onlay graft from intraoral source. Careful assessment of the recipient as well as the donor site using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a prerequisite to ideal treatment planning. This paper highlights the critical role of CBCT in planning a successful rehabilitation of traumatised deficient anterior maxillary alveolar ridge using autogenous block graft from mandibular symphysis, followed by implant placement. A 21-year-old male reported with missing right maxillary lateral incisor due to traumatic avulsion 6 months back. A concavity was found on the labial aspect of edentulous area. Serial transplanar images on CBCT revealed gross irregular radiolucency in place of labial cortical plate. Using CBCT, size of the required block was estimated, and mandibular symphyseal area was evaluated for the feasibility of harvesting...
The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Nigella sativa and Lepidium sativum... more The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Nigella sativa and Lepidium sativum on the pharmacokinetics of cyclosporine in rabbits. Two groups of animals were treated separately with Nigella sativa (200 mg/kg p.o.) or Lepidium sativum (150 mg/kg p.o.) for eight consecutive days. On the 8th day, cyclosporine (30 mg/kg p.o.) was administered to each group one hour after herbal treatment. Blood samples were withdrawn at different time intervals (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 12, and 24 hrs) from marginal ear vein. Cyclosporine was analyzed using UPLC/MS method. The coadministration of Nigella sativa significantly decreased the C(max) and AUC(0-∞) of cyclosporine; the change was observed by 35.5% and 55.9%, respectively (P ≤ 0.05). Lepidium sativum did not produce any significant change in C(max) of cyclosporine, although its absorption was significantly delayed compared with control group. A remarkable change was observed in T(max) and AUC(0-t) of Lepid...
International journal of biomedical science : IJBS, 2014
Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy in women. Unlike IDC, which typically metastasizes... more Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy in women. Unlike IDC, which typically metastasizes to the lung, liver or bone, ILC has been found to metastasize to GI tract, peritoneum and retroperitoneum. Nonspecific symptomology may be considered secondary to other diseases and this can delay the definite diagnosis and treatment of metastatic disease. Knowledge of the pattern of disease spread is essential for accurate diagnosis and early initiation of systemic treatment, thus avoiding unnecessary interventions. We are reporting three unique cases of metastatic ILC presenting with wide range of symptoms. Case A: 69-year-old female presented with recurrent jaundice. Case B: 77-year-old female with the past medical history of right breast ILC seven years ago status post right radical mastectomy with chemotherapy, presented with anemia. Case C: 56-year-old female presented with bright red blood per rectum. A high level of suspicion is needed for metastatic breast cancer in patients wi...
In Pakistan, avian influenza surveillance has been both active and passive. Here, we present the ... more In Pakistan, avian influenza surveillance has been both active and passive. Here, we present the results of a survey effort focusing solely on the live bird markets and wild bird species from diffe ...
Background and Aim: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a deadly virus of zoonotic potent... more Background and Aim: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a deadly virus of zoonotic potential. The study mainly aims to determine the risk pathways (RPs) for the probable incursion of HPAI virus (HPAIV) in backyard poultry in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: The study involves expert elicitation technique. The concept map determines the possible RPs. The map consists of 16 concepts, each with nodes from which probabilities of an event originates. These probabilities are described by qualitative descriptors ranging from negligible to high. Risk assessment has been performed using the subjective risk assessment tool. Results: The tool demonstrates positive correlation among groups of experts in the level of agreement by scoring RP; however, the level of agreement varies from 71% to 93% among group of experts. The median risk score of viral incursion through the "Exposure of backyard poultry with farm poultry in the trading market" was 11 and ranked as top, followed ...
Artificial cells, nanomedicine, and biotechnology, Jan 7, 2018
The present study was conducted for the optimization of transethosomes formulation for dermal fis... more The present study was conducted for the optimization of transethosomes formulation for dermal fisetin delivery. The optimization of the formulation was carried out using "Box-Behnken design". The independent variables were Lipoid S 100, ethanol and sodium cholate. The prepared formulations were characterized for vesicle size, entrapment efficiency and in vitro skin penetration study. The vesicles-skin interaction, confocal laser scanning microscopy and dermatokinetic studies were performed with optimized formulation. Results of the present study demonstrated that the optimized formulation presented vesicle size of 74.21 ± 2.65 nm, zeta potential of -11.0 mV, entrapment efficiency of 68.31 ± 1.48% and flux of 4.13 ± 0.17 µg/cm/h. The TEM image of optimized formulation exhibited sealed and spherical shape vesicles. Results of thermoanalytical techniques demonstrated that the prepared transethosomes vesicles formulation had fluidized the rigid membrane of rat's skin for s...
The present study was designed to study the quantitative effects of extraction time, temperature ... more The present study was designed to study the quantitative effects of extraction time, temperature and solvent to sample ratio on the yield of polysaccharides (LSP) using a Box-Behnken design. The activities of the optimized LSP extract were then tested in an in vivo experimental system of ()-induced endotoxin shock. The optimal polysaccharide extraction conditions were established by the equation of regression and evaluation of the response surface contour plots: extraction time 5.2 h; temperature 95 °C and ratio of water to raw material 31.89 mL/g. Subsequently, an in vivo endotoxin shock was induced in mice with a single i.p. injection. Septic mice showed a substantial raise in the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in plasma, whereas mice treated with LSP after injection showed considerable lower plasma levels of TNF-α ( < 0.05). These results suggest that LSP have beneficial effects when administered to mice with endotoxin shock by diminishing the pro-inflammatory r...
The main barrier for transdermal delivery is the obstacle property of the stratum corneum. Many t... more The main barrier for transdermal delivery is the obstacle property of the stratum corneum. Many types of chemical penetration enhancers have been used to breach the skin barrier; among the penetration enhancers, terpenes are found as the most highly advanced, safe, and proven category. In the present investigation, the terpenes anethole, menthone, and eugenol were used to enhance the permeation of valsartan through rat skin in vitro and their enhancement mechanism was investigated. Skin permeation studies of valsartan across rat skin in the absence and the presence of terpenes at 1% w/v, 3% w/v, and 5% w/v in vehicle were carried out using the transdermal diffusion cell sampling system across rat skin and samples were withdrawn from the receptor compartment at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 24 h and analysed for drug content by the HPLC method. The mechanism of skin permeation enhancement of valsartan by terpenes treatment was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTI...
Darwin's theory of evolution is the central theme of biology and also all the theories of evo... more Darwin's theory of evolution is the central theme of biology and also all the theories of evolution. Paleontology (study of fossils) provides the convincing, direct and clear-cut evidences for evolution. Darwin declared: " he, who rejects these views on the nature of geological record, would rightly reject his whole theory " . However, diverse literature confirmed that the more common plant fossils are imprints of leaves and are identical to their existing forms. Invertebrate rare form fossils but those formed are identical to their presented form. The entire vertebrate fossils are fragmentary bones. For example, fossils of dinosaurs are thigh bones, arm bones, teeth, footprints, bites etc; fossils of ancestors of humans are skull fragments, teeth, jaws etc. Transitional fossil is absent. Claimed transitional fossils of Archaeopteryx and Seymouria are not transitional at all; they are true bird and true reptile, respectively. Darwin himself declared there is no transit...
The study was conducted to assess the clinico-pathological profile of 50 liver abscess cases. Thi... more The study was conducted to assess the clinico-pathological profile of 50 liver abscess cases. This study showed that liver abscess is more common in male than in female. In present study Amoebic Liver Abscess (ALA) is much more common than Pyogenic Liver Abscess (PLA) and almost all the cases belonged to low or medium socio-economic class from rural areas. This may be due to poor living conditions, over crowding and unhygienic practices which leads to fecal contamination of food and drinks which help in transmission of amoeba. Liver abscess has correlation with consumption of indigenous alcohol. Ultrasonogram is an easy, widely available non-invasive and dependable investigation to diagnose liver abscess. In the absence of sophisticated investigations (e.g. Serum antibody against amoeba) at hand, only aspiration and study of pus is a good guide to confirm and to differentiate ALA from PLA. Complications like recurrence, pleuro-peritoneal involvement or rupture of the abscess are not...
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad : JAMC
Exercise is one of the most common precipitant of acute asthma encountered in clinical practice. ... more Exercise is one of the most common precipitant of acute asthma encountered in clinical practice. To determine frequency of Exercise-induced Bronchospasm (EIB) in male athletes, who had represented or were aspiring to represent at national and/or international level. Athletes of different departments and institutes, district, provincial and national squad who were residing, practicing and attending training camps at Karachi during November 2000 to January 2002 were included. It's an observational study on the frequency of EIB in athletes. A 21-item structured and pre-tested questionnaire was given for personal, biological and environmental information and an acquaintance session was conducted with each athlete to explain the procedure. Six minutes of competitive field free running Peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate, pulse rate and oxygen saturation were measured at 5-min, 15-min and 30-min. A player was considered EIB positive based on a post exercise decrement in PEF rate > or =...
Deficiencies in the alveolar ridges cause multiple problems in achieving aesthetic and functional... more Deficiencies in the alveolar ridges cause multiple problems in achieving aesthetic and functional outcome of implant therapy and are commonly restored by using onlay graft from intraoral source. Careful assessment of the recipient as well as the donor site using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a prerequisite to ideal treatment planning. This paper highlights the critical role of CBCT in planning a successful rehabilitation of traumatised deficient anterior maxillary alveolar ridge using autogenous block graft from mandibular symphysis, followed by implant placement. A 21-year-old male reported with missing right maxillary lateral incisor due to traumatic avulsion 6 months back. A concavity was found on the labial aspect of edentulous area. Serial transplanar images on CBCT revealed gross irregular radiolucency in place of labial cortical plate. Using CBCT, size of the required block was estimated, and mandibular symphyseal area was evaluated for the feasibility of harvesting...
The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Nigella sativa and Lepidium sativum... more The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Nigella sativa and Lepidium sativum on the pharmacokinetics of cyclosporine in rabbits. Two groups of animals were treated separately with Nigella sativa (200 mg/kg p.o.) or Lepidium sativum (150 mg/kg p.o.) for eight consecutive days. On the 8th day, cyclosporine (30 mg/kg p.o.) was administered to each group one hour after herbal treatment. Blood samples were withdrawn at different time intervals (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 12, and 24 hrs) from marginal ear vein. Cyclosporine was analyzed using UPLC/MS method. The coadministration of Nigella sativa significantly decreased the C(max) and AUC(0-∞) of cyclosporine; the change was observed by 35.5% and 55.9%, respectively (P ≤ 0.05). Lepidium sativum did not produce any significant change in C(max) of cyclosporine, although its absorption was significantly delayed compared with control group. A remarkable change was observed in T(max) and AUC(0-t) of Lepid...
International journal of biomedical science : IJBS, 2014
Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy in women. Unlike IDC, which typically metastasizes... more Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy in women. Unlike IDC, which typically metastasizes to the lung, liver or bone, ILC has been found to metastasize to GI tract, peritoneum and retroperitoneum. Nonspecific symptomology may be considered secondary to other diseases and this can delay the definite diagnosis and treatment of metastatic disease. Knowledge of the pattern of disease spread is essential for accurate diagnosis and early initiation of systemic treatment, thus avoiding unnecessary interventions. We are reporting three unique cases of metastatic ILC presenting with wide range of symptoms. Case A: 69-year-old female presented with recurrent jaundice. Case B: 77-year-old female with the past medical history of right breast ILC seven years ago status post right radical mastectomy with chemotherapy, presented with anemia. Case C: 56-year-old female presented with bright red blood per rectum. A high level of suspicion is needed for metastatic breast cancer in patients wi...
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