Variations in the Behaviour, Survival, Haematology, and Biochemistry of Ctenopharyngodon idella (Grass Carp) After Exposure to Commercial Grade Atrazine.

The current study assessed the harmful effects of Atrazine (ATZ) herbicide on haematology and biochemistry of the freshwater fish Ctenopharyngodon idella, a commercially significant fish in Pakistan. C. idella (13 ± 8.4 cm; 132 ± 5.6 g) was exposed to graded levels of ATZ, and its 96-hour LC50 value at 25°C was calculated to be 150.5 µl/L. After exposure to ATZ, fish displayed rapid movements, a loss of balance in position and equilibrium, anxious swimming patterns, colour changes, and increased mucous production. The MCHC, MCH, RBCs, and Hb in C. idella decreased significantly (P < 0.05), whereas the MCV, Ht, and WBCs were significantly increased (P < 0.05). At different time intervals (24, 48, 72, and 96 h) following ATZ administration (50, 100, 150, and 200 µl/L), biochemical analysis significantly decreased (P < 0.05) triglyceride, total protein, cholesterol, and albumin levels, whereas glucose levels significantly increased (P < 0.05). We concluded that ATZ is toxic to C. idella, altering their haematology and blood biochemistry even after only a brief exposure.

Pharmacological properties and therapeutic potential of honey bee venom.

Honey bee venom (BV) is a valuable product, and has a wide range of biological effects, and its use is rapidly increasing in apitherapy. Therefore, the current study, we reviewed the existing knowledge about BV composition and its numerous pharmacological properties for future research and use. Honey bee venom or apitoxin is produced in the venom gland in the honey bee abdomen. Adult bees use it as a primary colony defense mechanism. It is composed of many biologically active substances including peptides, enzymes, amines, amino acids, phospholipids, minerals, carbohydrates as well as some volatile components. Melittin and phospholipase A2 are the most important components of BV, having anti-cancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritis, anti-nociceptive and other curative potentials. Therefore, in medicine, BV has been used for centuries against different diseases like arthritis, rheumatism, back pain, and various inflammatory infections. Nowadays, BV or its components separately, are used for the treatment of various diseases in different countries as a natural medicine with limited side effects. Consequently, scientists as well as several pharmaceutical companies are trying to get a new understanding about BV, its substances and its activity for more effective use of this natural remedy in modern medicine.

Health Related Quality of Life amongst Sewerage and Sanitary Workers of Karachi, Pakistan.

Objectives: To find out the impact of occupational and socio-demographic factors on the health related quality of life of sewerage and sanitary workers in Karachi. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2019. Four hundred workers were chosen from five districts of Karachi using a non-probability convenient sampling technique. An Urdu version of WHO BRIEF quality of life questionnaire was used to collect the data about workers general health status and quality of life. Descriptive analysis was done and Chi-square test was used for the association of socio-demographic factors and quality of life. Multiple regression model was used to predict QOL of all domains. P-value<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Out of 400 sanitary workers, 228 (57.0%) were sweepers and the rest 172 (43.0) were sewerage workers. The majority of the workers 321 (80.3%) were male and 246 (61.5%) were illiterate. The vast majority of the workers 386 (96.5%) were not immunized against typhoid, / hepatitis and tetanus. Ninety-one percent (91%) were not using any kind of safety gadgets while at work. Male workers, married workers of both sexes and those with some education had a little better quality of life than their counterparts. Sanitary employees likewise had a higher quality of life score than sewage workers (P-value<0.05). Conclusion: The majority of workers, particularly sewage workers, have a very poor quality of life. Along with very bad working circumstances, their standard of living is significantly below par. They were not given any safety equipment. They were handling untreated sewage/waste with their bare hands, and they have never received a typhoid/hepatitis /tetanus vaccine.

Rubella seroprevalence and demographic feature analysis in pregnant women from Southern Pakistan.

The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of rubella infection in pregnant women of district Lakki Marwat leading to foetal death, abortion, premature birth or congenital rubella syndrome. A total of 200 blood samples were collected from pregnant women visiting different maternal health care centers of the study area. Sera samples were tested for rubella-specific IgG and IgM antibodies through ELISA. The overall sero-positivity rate for IgG was 16% and for IgM was 2.5% in the pregnant women respectively. A higher sero-positivity rate was observed in the age group of 26-33 years. Women of rural areas showed higher sero-positivity rate than urban areas. The high sero-prevalence of rubella in the pregnant women of the study area poses a serious threat to the developing foetus.

Inhibitory Effect of Camptothecin against Rice Bacterial Brown Stripe Pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae RS-2.

Camptothecin (CPT) has anticancer, antiviral, and antifungal properties. However, there is a dearth of information about antibacterial activity of CPT. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of CPT on Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae strain RS-2, the pathogen of rice bacterial brown stripe, by measuring cell growth, DNA damage, cell membrane integrity, the expression of secretion systems, and topoisomerase-related genes, as well as the secretion of effector protein Hcp. Results indicated that CPT solutions at 0.05, 0.25, and 0.50 mg/mL inhibited the growth of strain RS-2 in vitro, while the inhibitory efficiency increased with an increase in CPT concentration, pH, and incubation time. Furthermore, CPT treatment affected bacterial growth and replication by causing membrane damage, which was evidenced by transmission electron microscopic observation and live/dead cell staining. In addition, quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that CPT treatment caused differential expression of eight secretion system-related genes and one topoisomerase-related gene, while the up-regulated expression of hcp could be justified by the increased secretion of Hcp based on the ELISA test. Overall, this study indicated that CPT has the potential to control the bacterial brown stripe pathogen of rice.

Identification of Pathogenicity-Related Genes in Biofilm-Defective Acidovorax citrulli by Transposon Tn5 Mutagenesis.

Biofilm formation is important for virulence of a large number of plant pathogenic bacteria. Indeed, some virulence genes have been found to be involved in the formation of biofilm in bacterial fruit blotch pathogen Acidovorax citrulli. However, some virulent strains of A. citrulli were unable to format biofilm, indicating the complexity between biofilm formation and virulence. In this study, virulence-related genes were identified in the biofilm-defective strain A1 of A. citrulli by using Tn5 insertion, pathogenicity test, and high-efficiency thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (hiTAIL-PCR). Results from this study indicated that 22 out of the obtained 301 mutants significantly decreased the virulence of strain A1 compared to the wild-type. Furthermore, sequence analysis indicated that the obtained 22 mutants were due to the insertion of Tn5 into eight genes, including Aave 4244 (cation diffusion facilitator family transporter), Aave 4286 (hypothetical protein), Aave 4189 (alpha/beta hydrolase fold), Aave 1911 (IMP dehydrogenase/GMP reductase domain), Aave 4383 (bacterial export proteins, family 1), Aave 4256 (Hsp70 protein), Aave 0003 (histidine kinase, DNA gyrase B, and HSP90-like ATPase), and Aave 2428 (pyridoxal-phosphate dependent enzyme). Furthermore, the growth of mutant Aave 2428 was unaffected and even increased by the change in incubation temperature, NaCl concentration and the pH of the LB broth, indicating that this gene may be directly involved in the bacterial virulence. Overall, the determination of the eight pathogenicity-related genes in strain A1 will be helpful to elucidate the pathogenesis of biofilm-defective A. citrulli.

Bee pollen as a food and feed supplement and a therapeutic remedy: recent trends in nanotechnology.

Pollen grains are the male reproductive part of the flowering plants. It is collected by forager honey bees and mixed with their salivary secretions, enzymes, and nectar, which form fermented pollen or "bee bread" which is stored in cells of wax honeycombs. Bee pollen (BP) is a valuable apitherapeutic product and is considered a nutritional healthy food appreciated by natural medicine from ancient times. Recently, BP has been considered a beneficial food supplement and a value-added product that contains approximately 250 different bioactive components. It contains numerous beneficial elements such as Mg, Ca, Mn, K, and phenolic compounds. BP possesses strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, analgesic, immunostimulant, neuroprotective, anti-cancer, and hepatoprotective properties. It is used for different purposes for the welfare of mankind. Additionally, there is a growing interest in honey bee products harvesting and utilizing for many purposes as a natural remedy and nutritive function. In this review, the impacts of BP on different organisms in different ways by highlighting its apitherapeutic efficacy are described.

In vivo effects of a selected thiourea derivative 1-(2-chlorobenzoyl)-3-(2,3-dichlorophenyl) against nociception, inflammation and gastric ulcerogenicity: Biochemical, histopathological and in silico approaches.

The current study was designed to investigate the potential of a synthetic therapeutic agent for better management of pain and inflammation, exhibiting minimal to non-existent ulcerogenic effects. The effect of 1-(2-chlorobenzoyl)-3-(2,3-dichlorophenyl) thiourea was assessed through model systems of nociception and anti-inflammatory activities in mice. In addition, the ulcerogenic potential was evaluated in rats using the NSAID-induced pyloric ligation model, followed by histopathological and biochemical analysis. The test was conducted on eight groups of albino rats, comprising of group I (normal saline), groups II and III (aspirin® at doses of 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg, respectively), groups IV and V (indomethacin at doses of 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg, respectively), and groups VI, VII, and VIII (lead-compound at 15 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg and 45 mg/kg doses, respectively). Furthermore, molecular docking analyses were performed to predict potential molecular target site interactions. The results showed that the lead-compound, administered at doses of 15, 30, and 45 mg/kg, yielded significant reductions in chemically and thermally induced nociceptive pain, aligning with the levels observed for aspirin® and tramadol. The compound also effectively suppressed inflammatory response in the carrageenan-induced paw edema model. As for the ulcerogenic effects, the compound groups displayed no considerable alterations compared to the aspirin® and indomethacin groups, which displayed substantial increases in ulcer scores, total acidity, free acidity, and gastric juice volume, and a decrease in gastric juice pH. In conclusion, these findings suggest that our test compound exhibits potent antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory properties and is devoid of ulcerogenic effects.

Nano-managing silver and zinc as bio-conservational approach against pathogens of the honey bee.

Herein, silver and zinc oxide Nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by using W. coagulant fruit extract as reducing agent and capping agent. The green synthesized NP with distinct properties were used for novel application against fungal and bacterial pathogen of honey bee (A. mellifera). The UV-spectroscopy confirms the synthesis of silver and zinc oxide NPs at 420 nm and 350 nm respectively. Further, XRD evaluated the monoclinic structure of Ag NPs while ZnO NPs showed wurtzite hexagonalcrystlized structure. Resistant honey bee pathogens such Paenibacilluslarvae, Melissococcus plutonius and Ascosphaera apis were isolated, identified and cultured in vitro to assess the antimicrobial potentials of Ag and ZnO NPs. Additionally, different biomolecules provide access to achieve maximum and stable Ag and ZnO NPs. It was also observed that with increasing the concentration of zinc oxide NPs and sliver NPs, zone of inhibition was also increased. Thus, present findings show that plant extracts can be a useful natural resource to prepare functional nonmaterial for targeted applications especially in the field of apicultural research.

Crest to Trough Cellular Drifting of Green-Synthesized Zinc Oxide and Silver Nanoparticles.

Green nanotechnology facilitates the blooming of zinc oxide (ZnO) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) with distinct flowerlike and spherical morphologies, respectively. The well-characterized NPs with an average size of 35 nm (ZnO) and 25 nm (Ag) were functionalized on the cresty plates for antibacterial inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with the flowerlike ZnONPs exhibiting 90.9% inhibition and AgNPs exhibiting 100% inhibition. Further, the in vivo underwater troughs for hematological, immunological, and serological analysis in Labeo rohita exhibited 102 > 575 > 104 and 206 > 109 > 81% at concentrations of 1, 2, and 3 mg/L with 4-day and 15-day treatment, respectively, over ZnONPs. However, AgNPs exhibited 257 > 408 > 124 and 86 > 202 > 43% with 4-day and 15-day treatment, respectively, at the same concentrations. The classical ZnNPs and AgNPs exhibited excellent inhibition potential and significant transfiguration of hematological, enzymological, and protein parameters as safe nanomedicine, but ZnONPs were found to be 58, 69, 29 and 34, 51, 70% more active than AgNPs with 4-day and 15-day treatment, respectively. Therefore, the onset of ROX and antioxidant arena favors beneficial cellular drifting of NPs.

Frequency of metabolic syndrome in patients with ischaemic heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency of metabolic syndrome in patients with Ischaemic Heart Disease. METHODS: This was a cross sectional observational study. Patients with a first time cardiac event arriving in emergency room during the period October 2009 to April 2010, were included. Five components of Metabolic syndrome were defined according to criteria set by International Diabetes Federation, American Heart Association & National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute which had abdominal obesity (waist circumference) as an integral part of the syndrome. Blood sugar, triglycerides, HDL-C were measured within 24 hrs of cardiac insult. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure > 130/85 mmHg. Variables were integrated for descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 477 patients diagnosed with Ischaemic Heart Disease were inducted in the study. There were 355 (74%) males and 122 (26%) females. Frequency of metabolic syndrome in Ischaemic heart disease was seen in 195 (54.95%) males and 96 (78.7%) females (p < 0.001). According to recent criteria abdominal obesity was observed in 91 (81.1%) females as compared to males 219 (61.7%) (p < 0.001) Similarly, low HDL and Hypertension were high in frequency in females. No significant difference in triglycerides levels was found in either gender. CONCLUSION: Frequency of metabolic syndrome with Ischaemic heart disease was high in females as compared to males. This could be attributed to the increased prevalence of abdominal obesity.

Therapeutic advances in the topical treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis: A review.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis has been endemic since decades. Millions of cases are reported worldwide specially in developing and underdeveloped countries. There are 2 major types of cutaneous leishmaniasis based on the causating species found in different regions of the world. These include New and Old World cutaneous leishmaniasis, which are self-healing, but if not treated, these may cause severe scars and many other complications like mucosal involvement. The conventional gold standard treatment for both types is mainly intralesional or parenteral administration of antimonial. Lately, a great deal of research has been done on development of topical treatment based on single agent or combination therapy. This review summarizes the current state of literature regarding therapeutic outcome of topical treatment against cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by different species in different regions.

Viral impacts on honey bee populations: A review.

Honey bee is vital for pollination and ecological services, boosting crops productivity in terms of quality and quantity and production of colony products: wax, royal jelly, bee venom, honey, pollen and propolis. Honey bees are most important plant pollinators and almost one third of diet depends on bee's pollination, worth billions of dollars. Hence the role that honey bees have in environment and their economic importance in food production, their health is of dominant significance. Honey bees can be infected by various pathogens like: viruses, bacteria, fungi, or infested by parasitic mites. At least more than 20 viruses have been identified to infect honey bees worldwide, generally from Dicistroviridae as well as Iflaviridae families, like ABPV (Acute Bee Paralysis Virus), BQCV (Black Queen Cell Virus), KBV (Kashmir Bee Virus), SBV (Sacbrood Virus), CBPV (Chronic bee paralysis virus), SBPV (Slow Bee Paralysis Virus) along with IAPV (Israeli acute paralysis virus), and DWV (Deformed Wing Virus) are prominent and cause infections harmful for honey bee colonies health. This issue about honey bee viruses demonstrates remarkably how diverse this field is, and considerable work has to be done to get a comprehensive interpretation of the bee virology.

Successful management of dislodged stents during percutaneous coronary intervention.

Stent dislodgement is a very rare but recognized and potentially serious complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This case series describe the incidence and etiology of such cases at National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi during the year 2008 and the method of treatment of this complication.

Peripheral blood T cells response in human parainfluenza virus-associated lower respiratory tract infection in children.

Human Parainfluenza virus (HPIV) causes lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) mostly in young children. Respiratory viral infections may decline T cells in circulation and display enhanced pathogenicity. This study is aimed to analyze T cells alterations due to HPIV in children with LRTIs. Children (N = 152) with bronchitis or pneumonia, admitted in tertiary care hospitals were included in the study. Respiratory samples (throat or nasopharyngeal swabs) were taken and HPIV genotypes (1-4) were analyzed through RT-PCR. Peripheral blood T cells, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD19+, were analyzed in confirmed HPIV positive and healthy control group children through flow cytometry. The positivity rate of HPIV was 24.34% and the most prevalent genotype was HPIV-3 (20.40%). HPIV-1 and HPIV-2 were detected in 0.66% and 02% children respectively. The T lymphocyte counts were observed significantly reduced in children infected with HPIV-3. CD4+ cell (1580 ± 97.87) counts did not change significantly but the lowest CD8+ T cell counts (518.5 ± 74.00) were recorded. Similarly, CD3+ and CD19 cell ratios were also reduced. The CD4/CD8 ratio was significantly higher (3.12 ± 0.59) in the study population as compared to the control group (2.18 ± 0.654). Changes in the count of CD8+ T cells were more pronounced in patients with bronchiolitis and pneumonia. It is concluded that CD8+ T cells show a reduced response to HPIV-3 in children with severe LRTIs suggesting a strong association of these cells with disease severity.

Author Correction: In vitro biological screening of a critically endangered medicinal plant, Atropa acuminata Royle Ex Lindl of north western Himalaya.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Coronary embolism causing acute myocardial infarction in a patient with mitral valve prosthesis: successful management with angioplasty.

A 24-year-old male patient with anterior myocardial infarction, caused by embolization from mitral valve prosthesis due to inadequate anticoagulation is presented. The patient underwent cardiac catheterization within 90 minutes of arrival. Angiography showed total occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) after the second diagonal branch. Thrombus was extracted with export catheter from LAD, and coronary artery perfusion was restored. The pain disappeared completely immediately after this intervention. Transoesophageal echocardiography performed 2 days later revealed no thrombus at the prosthetic valve. In conclusion, this case demonstrated that coronary embolism may occur even without prosthetic valve thrombus or dysfunction with suboptimal International Normalized Ratio levels, and can be successfully treated with coronary angiography with clot extraction with aspiration catheter (Export XT 6F Medtronic) only, without stenting.

In vivo pharmacological investigation of Monotheca buxifolia and Bosea amherstiana using animal models.

Experimental based evidence suggests that most of the medicinal plants possess wide-ranging pharmacological and biological activities that may possibly use in treatment of inflammation-related diseases. The current study was aimed to explore the acute toxicity, analgesic, sedative and antipyretic activities of Monotheca buxifolia and Bosea amherstiana in mices. In vivo experimental models were used in this study. Acute toxicity was evaluated for 24 h' interval at concentration of 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 mg/kg. The analgesic activity was estimated by acetic acid induced writhing test. White wood apparatus enclosed in stainless steel was used for sedative experiment and antipyretic activity was evaluated in brewer's yeast induced hyperthermic at 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg i.p. Both plants were found safe at all tested doses. Monotheca buxifolia and Bosea amherstiana dose-dependently reduced abdominal constrictions in mice. Both plants exhibited significant (P < 0.0001) sedative effects in dose of 50, 150 and 150 mg/kg. Both plants markedly (P < 0.0001) reduced yeast induced hyperthermia. The inhibitions were dose-dependent and remained significant up to five hours of administration. These investigational results have linked a pharmacological indication for the traditional claim of the drugs to be used as an anti-inflammatory, analgesics and antipyretic agents.

Insect pollinators diversity and abundance in Eruca sativa Mill. (Arugula) and Brassica rapa L. (Field mustard) crops.

Studies on the insect pollinators diversity and their relative abundance in Eruca sativa Mill. (Arugula) and Brassica rapa L. (field mustard) was carried out during spring season from February to April consecutively during all the three years of 2016-18. Insect pollinators observed belonged to four orders i.e. Hymenoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera. A total of 20 major species of insect pollinators were recorded. The highest abundance of pollinator species belonged to Hymenoptera. The most prominent insect pollinator species were Apis mellifera followed by other three honey bee species of A. cerana, A. florea, and A. dorsata respectively. Some species of solitary bees were also recorded. From Diptera, four species of syrphid fly and one species from Muscidae family were also recorded. Insect pollinators recorded from order Lepidoptera were Pieris brassicae, Vanessa cardui, and Papilio demoleus. Lady bird beetle Coccinella septempunctata was recorded from Coleoptera order as occasional visitor. It was noticed that E. sativa attracted more insect pollinators than B. rapa which may be attributed to different amount and chemical properties of nectar, with number of pollen grains, and flower canopy of both crops. Further studies are needed to confirm the reasons for higher pollinator visitation to E. sativa than B. rapa through chemical analysis of nectar, amount of pollens, flower physiology and phenology of both crops.

Composition and functional properties of propolis (bee glue): A review.

Propolis is a natural substance collected by honey bees from various plants such as, poplar, palm, pine, conifer secretions, gums, resins, mucilage and leaf buds. It is collected and brought very painstakingly by honey bees to be used for sealing cracks and crevices occurring in their hives. Originally, it as an antiseptic meant for preventing bee-hive from microbial infections along with preventing decomposition of intruders. Additionally, propolis has been used in folk medicine for centuries. The biological characteristics of propolis depend upon its chemical composition, plant sources, geographical zone and seasons. More than 300 compounds have been identified in propolis such as, phenolic compounds, aromatic acids, essential oils, waxes and amino acids. Many scientific articles are published every year in different international journals, and several groups of researchers have focused their attention on the chemical compounds and biological activity of propolis.