RESUMEN
Increased levels of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] are indicative of coronary artery disease (CAD). Dyslipidemia, which is an established risk factor for CAD, is also an additional adverse effect of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. Procoagulant and fibrinolytic indicators have been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), plays a significant negative regulatory role in fibrinolysis, through its function as the main inhibitor of tissue plasminogen activator. This study was designed to investigate the levels of Lp(a) and PAI-1 in uncomplicated type 2 diabetic patients and their association with healthy controls. Materials and methods: A case-control study designed for the estimation of Lp(a) and PAI-1 in serum after collecting blood samples from type 2 diabetic patients at the Layla Qasim Diabetic Center in Erbil, Iraq. The study included 90 participants, of whom 30 were healthy controls (15 males and 15 females). The remaining 60 cases were patients with type 2 diabetes with a duration of up to 6 years (30 males and 30 females). Results: Serum Lp(a) and PAI-1 levels were significantly lower in type 2 diabetic patients than in controls (P<0.01), this is an opposite result that usually happen in uncontrolled and complicated diabetic patients. Conclusions: The results were clearly stated a beneficial effect of Metformin on the levels of Lp(a) and PAI-1 in type 2 diabetes, so lowering their concentrations would help prevention of CAD, a known cause of death in diabetic patients.
RESUMEN
Nickel-cobalt sulfide (NiCo2S4) is a prominent member of bimetallic transition metal sulfides. It is being widely used for a variety of applications such as electrode material, photocatalysis, and energy storage devices (like pseudo capacitors, supercapacitors, solar cells, and fuel cells) due to its better electronic conductivity, manageable morphology, and high capacitance. This work presents the one-step solventless synthesis of NiCo2S4 sheet-like nanostructures and then explores their metallic nature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis show the sheet-like grown morphology. Few nanorods are also seen. Except for a recent study (Xia et al. 2015) that shows metallic behavior, most of the reports show that NiCo2S4 is a semiconductor with claimed bandgap between 1.21 and 2.4 eV. In this study, we observe from UV-Vis and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) that NiCo2S4 has a specific band gap value between 2.02 and 2.17 eV. However, IV characteristics in the temperature range of 300-400 K show that NiCo2S4 is a metal with a positive temperature coefficient of resistance consistent with a recent report. Furthermore, we see the ohmic conduction mechanism. The Arrhenius plot is drawn, and the activation energy is calculated to be 3.45 meV. The metallic nature is attributed to the coupling of two metal species (nickel and cobalt), which accounts for its superior conductivity and performance in a variety of essential applications.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Spontaneous Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reporting is a cornerstone for a successful pharmacovigilance program as under-reporting of ADRs remains a major issue around the globe. The current study aimed to assess the knowledge attitude and practices of health care professionals regarding pharmacovigilance along with barriers and factors to encourage ADR reporting at tertiary care hospitals of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. METHODS: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted, using the convenience sampling method to collect the data from doctors, nurses, and pharmacists working in seven tertiary care hospitals from seven districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, between July 2019 and March 2020. RESULTS: During the study, a total of 830 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 669 were returned (response rate 80.6%). Overall, Healthcare professionals exhibited poor knowledge (79.5%) about ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance however, 73.5% of pharmacists were more knowledgeable as compared to 18.7% doctors and 13.8% nurses (p < .001). Moreover, poor reporting practices were displayed by 95.6% doctors, 94.4% nurses, 94.4 and 75.5% pharmacists (p < .001). However, the majority of healthcare professionals showed an overall positive attitude (94%) toward ADR reporting. The most frequently cited barriers were unavailability of reporting forms (92.5%), absence of a professional environment to discuss ADRs (82.5%), and lack of training (81.8%) whereas, most common factors to encourage ADR reporting were obligatory reporting (85.9%) and provision of ADR management guidelines and training (84.3%). A significant relation was found between the healthcare professionals and their professional status with the overall knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) scores (p < .001) whereas a medium, positive correlation was found between the knowledge and practice of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting by the healthcare professionals (r = 0.321, n = 669, p < .001). CONCLUSION: There is an overall lack of knowledge and poor reporting practices among health care professionals on ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance. Hence the study suggests that strategies should be devised by all the stakeholders to properly educate and train the healthcare professionals in this area to enhance overall patient safety and safe use of medicines.