453 research outputs found
Eclipse (Grohon kal)
No full textIn Bangladeshi with English subtitlesProducer: Shaheen AkhtarDirectors: Shaheen Akhtar, Shameen Akhtar and Makbul ChowdhuryStories of Muslim women who have committed suicide in the wake of fatwas in Bangladesh, and the activists who strive for the prohibition of these religious ruling
Ayad Akhtar: A Conversation
No full textOn October 25, Pakistani-born artist and RISD alumna Shahzia Sikander, the Painting Department\u27s 2016 Kirloskar Fellow, organized a lecture and conversation with playwright and author–and her frequent collaborator–Ayad Akhtar, at the RISD Metcalf Auditorium.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/painting_kirloskarvisitingscholarlectures/1000/thumbnail.jp
Effects of Diabetogenic Agent Streptozotocin on Hematological Parameters of Wistar Albino Rats "An Experimental Study"
No full textBackground: Diabetes mellitus has remained the major concern for medical sciences researches due to its deleterious effects on general, physical and mental health of patients. To understand the pathophysiology and to explore better treatment options for such kind of metabolic disorders it is necessary to generate the experimental animal models. To create diabetic animal models, streptozotocin has shown predominance in selectivity as a diabetogenic agent. While studying effects of any intervention in the diabetic animal models, being a cytotoxic drug streptozotocin may affect the study results by inhibiting highly replicating cells especially hematopoietic cells.
Keywords: Streptozotocin; animal model; hematological parameters.
1. INTRODUCTION
Diabetes mellitus has remained the major concern for medical sciences researches not only due to its high incidence and prevalence rate but also due its deleterious effects on general, physical and mental health of the patients [1]. To understand the pathophysiology and to explore better treatment options for such kind of metabolic disorders it is necessary to generate the experimental animal models [2]. To create diabetic animal models, surgical (pancreatectomy) and pharmacological (alloxan monohydrate and streptozotocin) options have been used in research but pharmacological options particularly use of streptozotocin has shown predominance in selectivity as a diabetogenic agent [1,2]. Chemically, streptozotocin is a derivative of synthetic Nitrosoureido Glucopyranose and has been used for cancer chemotherapies [3], being its potential to inhibit DNA synthesis in bacterial and mammalian cells [4]. While its diabetogenic effect is thought to be attributed to its ability to cause pancreatic β cells’ death by DNA alkylation and hence used to induce diabetes mellitus in experimental animals [5,6].
The methods to induce diabetes in animal models by streptozotocin fall under three categories 1. Multiple small doses (i.e. 40 mg/kg) of streptozotocin over a period of several days 2. A single moderate dose (i.e. 60 mg/kg) of streptozotocin or 3. A single large dose (100 mg/kg) of streptozotocin produce diabetes in 48-
72 hours. Usually a single large dose of streptozotocin is used to induce diabetes in experimental models as reported by Ito et al. 100 mg / kg of streptozotocin produced non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in experimental animals [7]. Streptozotocin can be administered by various routes including subcutaneous and intramuscular routes but intraperitoneal and intravenous administration routes are preferred. [8]. After 3-4 days of streptozotocin administration fasting blood glucose levels are obtained to confirm the accuracy of procedure [9] and on 5th day when 180-500 mg/dl serum glucose levels are obtained experimental animals are considered as diabetic [10].
Though streptozotocin is preferred pharmaco- logical method for induction of diabetes [11], many studies have reported spontaneous recovery from hyperglycemia due to reactive hyperinsulinemia insulinoma [12,13,14]. Streptototozin, not only affects pancreas and cause diabetes in experimental animals but also have a potential to produce toxic effects on other body tissues as well. It has been learnt through a number of studies that streptozotocin is associated with high incidence of hepatic and renal tumors [15], increase in permeability of blood brain barrier [16], renal hypertrophy [17] and retinal damage in experimental animal models [18]. As already discussed that streptozotocin damages DNA by alkylation and produces free radicals, therefore it may harm any organ system of animals [19]. Despite of aforementioned, streptozotocin is still employed
Aims: The aim of study was to analyze the effects of streptozotocin on various cellular components of blood such as RBCs, WBCs (Lymphocytes, Neutrophils, Eosinophils), Hb%, HCT and Platelets, at baseline, 5th day and 15th day without any intervention.
Study Design: Animal based Experimental study.
Place and duration of Study: The study was conducted at animal house of faculty of Pharmacy Ziauddin University Karachi, while laboratory work was performed at MDRL-1 Ziauddin University. Methodology: In Group A normal saline and in group B and C 60 mg / kg streptozotocin diluted in normal saline was administered intraperitoneally. After the confirmation of induction of Diabetes in rats, on fifth day blood samples were drawn from Group A and B and were analyzed. While blood samples from group C were drawn on fifteenth day.
Results: Analysis of various hematological parameters on 5th day revealed that there was a decrease in the levels of Hb, HCT, RBCs and WBCs with an increase in platelet count in group B in comparison to group A (control). On the other hand, in Group C (15th day), blood cell counts (Hb, HCT, RBCs, WBCs, Lymphocytes, Neutrophils and platelets) seemed to recover from streptozotocin induced decline that was observed in group B, however did not reach the baselines as in group A(control).
Conclusion: It is concluded that change in hematological parameters of rats after administration of streptozotocin is reversible. The blood parameters may recover near to base line values without any intervention within two weeks
Association of Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Medical Students Studying in Modular, Semester and Annual Examination System
No full textBackground: When there are high demands besides less resources, a person experiences a feeling of fear that is known as “Stress”. Students of professional schools/colleges and universities are encounter more stress than the general population as they are in a transitory phase from adolescence to adulthood. It has been highlighted that medical education has greater association with stress. There are three examination systems that are been followed by medical colleges of Pakistan (modular, semester and annual systems). However, to the best of our knowledge, no data is available to show the association of stress with current examination systems in our country.
Aims: The objectives of our study were to find out the association of stress with different examination systems and to identify the frequency of stress causing and coping factors adopted by 1st, 2nd and 3rd year medical students studying in colleges having different examination systems i.e. modular, semester and annual.
Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study.
Place & Duration of Study: This study was conducted from December 2018 to April 2019 in three medical colleges of Sindh having above mentioned examination systems.
Study Population: Medical students of 1st 2nd and 3rd year.
Methodology: To assess depression, anxiety and stress among study population, DASS Scale was used. To identify the stress causing and coping factors in the students Likert scale based proforma with 19 factors were given to the selected participants
Results: There was no significant association of examination system with depression, anxiety and stress, however various stress causing and coping factors were found significant in altering medical student`s life.
Conclusion: According to our study, the frequency of stress in the medial students has no association with the examination systems (modular, semester and annual), currently followed by the medical colleges in Sindh, Pakistan
Modulation of Altered Immune Parameters IL-2 and TNF-α in Diabetic Animal Models: A Therapeutic Insinuation of Metformin Beyond Diabetes
No full textBackground: Immunomodulatory drugs target the overall immune system, hence producing numerous toxic
effects on the other organs with serious health manifestations. Due to these safety concerns, there is a need
to introduce or repurpose a new drug with immunomodulatory effects with good safety, efficacy, and better
tolerance. Metformin, a standard antidiabetic drug, was evaluated for its immunomodulatory effects in
diabetic models in the current study.
Methodology: The diabetic model was developed by intraperitoneal (IP) administration of streptozotocin (60
mg/kg). The experimental rats were divided into six groups (three diabetic and three non-diabetic) with six
rats in each group. Metformin (50 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) was given orally to both diabetic and non-diabetic
groups, once a day, for 42 days. Immunomodulatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-5, tumor necrosis
factor (TNF)-α, and interferon gamma (INF-ɣ) were analyzed from blood samples by BD FCAP flow
cytometer.
Results: The results revealed a significant (p=0.002) decrease in IL-2 and TNF-α in diabetic groups in
comparison to control rats. However, no significant changes were observed in IL-4, IL-5, and INF-ɣ levels.
Importantly, the treatment of metformin at both doses, i.e., 50 and 80 mg/kg, significantly reduced the
elevated levels of IL-2 and TNF-α when compared to untreated diabetic groups.
Conclusion: Metformin may be considered as an optimum drug candidate to reduce pro-inflammatory
cytokines, IL-2 and TNF-α, that can lead to the reduction of long-term diabetic complications
Safia Akhtar\u27s Feminism (In the Context of "Harf-e-Ashna" and "Zair-e-Lab")
No full textSafia Akhtar is the wife of the renowned Urdu poet, Jan Nisar Akhtar. She is a modern Indian woman with progressive and feminist consciousness. This thought is clearly expressed in the collections her letters, "Harf-e-Ashna" and "Zair-e-Lab," which she wrote to her husband. In these letters, we see a new woman of the twentieth century who dares to move forward with the support of her self-confidence. She rejects the unnecessary restrictions imposed by society and breaks the iron chains of age-old and outdated traditions. She knows how to protect her rights. In her feminist consciousness, we see a balance, softness, and harmony with nature. She neither shouts slogans to abolish the concept of gender from society nor demands the rejection of the distinctions of the natural and social positions of men and women. She does not demand that women be treated like men, but rather that she wishes to be given all rights on an equal footing, recognizing and understanding the natural differences between men and women. In her letters, we see a practical picture of a feminist woman who is a follower of "New Age Feminism"
Comparative analysis of antidyslipidemic effects of fenugreek seed extract and standard pharmacological therapy in diet induced animal model of dyslipidemia. An experimental study
No full textObjectives: The objective of this study was to compare the antidyslipidemic effects of fenugreek seed extract in comparison to standard drugs used for dyslipidemia in an animal model of dyslipidemia.
Methods: It was an experimental study conducted on 42 male, 9 weeks old Wistar albino rats for a period of 7 weeks. Animals were randomly divided into 7 groups, out of which 6 groups were given lipid rich diet to induce dyslipidemia for 28 days while one group served as control given normal diet. After 28 days standard drugs alone as well as in combinations (statins 10 mg/kg and fibrates 100 mg/kg) and fenugreek seed extract in two different doses, 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg were administered once a day for 21 days to all the respective groups except positive (lipid rich diet) and negative control groups (on normal diet), both were administered normal saline. Baseline body weights of all groups of animals were measured at the start of the study. At the end of the study period, body weights of all groups of animal groups were measured again and their blood was drawn through cardiac puncture for the assessment of TC, LDL-C, HDL, TGs, D/B, I/B and ALT. All the intervention groups were compared on the basis of above mentioned parameters and changes in weight.
Results: Amongst all the groups, lipid parameters (TC, LDL, TGs) showed a significant reduction and increase in HDL in the group on FSE in a dose dependent manner. Moreover, FSE also showed significant decrease in the levels of liver enzymes including ALT, D/B and in body weight when compared to other groups. While we did not find any significant change for urea, creatinine and I/B amongst all the groups.
Conclusion: It is concluded that the fenugreek seed extract showed superior effects when compared to traditional pharmacological therapy against dyslipidemia
Effects of metformin on the weight of healthy and streptozotocin-induced diabetic animal-model
No full textBackground: Metformin was approved by FDA in 1994 for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus. Due to its interaction with the AMP kinases enzyme system, it showed multiple effects on other organ systems of the body. Despite being the drug of the first choice for type II diabetes it became a popular drug for PCOS and currently, various trials are proving its anticancer effects. Though not approved by FDA it is also responsible for weight loss. The study aims to investigate the effect of metformin on the weight of healthy and streptozotocin-induced diabetic animal models. The study was performed at Animal House, Faculty of Pharmacy Ziauddin University Karachi. Methods: It was a pre-clinical experimental study conducted at Ziauddin University Karachi from August 2019 to December 2019. 36 male Albino rats were divided into 6 groups such with 6 rats in each group. Out of six three were healthy models (i.e., groups 1, 2, and 3) and the remaining three were diabetic models (i.e., Group 4, 5, and 6). Diabetes was induced in groups 4,5 and 6 by using the diabetogenic drug Streptozotocin. In Group 1 and 4, 0.5 ml normal saline was administered, 50 mg/kg (5 mg/100g) metformin diluted in 0.5 ml distilled water was administered in Group 2 and 5 followed by administration of 80 mg/kg (8 mg/100g) metformin diluted in 0.5ml distilled water in Group 3 and 6. the protocol was followed twice a day for 42 days. The weight of all the groups was calculated before and after drug intervention. Results: Metformin-induced weight loss was observed in healthy treated groups at both doses, however, there was no significant difference in weight loss in diabetic treated and untreated groups. Conclusion: Metformin showed weight lowering properties in healthy treated subjects, after induction of diabetes we found weight loss in diabetic untreated and treated groups which suggests that hyperglycaemia may cause weight loss but when metformin corrects the hyperglycaemic profile it does not lead to an increase in weight
Akhtar Raza Saleemi as a Poet
Get PDF Akhtar Raza Saleemi was brought into the world on 16 June 1974, at Kekot Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He accepted his primer schooling in his own town and learnt Urdu, Persian and so on at an early age. Later he moved to Karachi for where he rehashed his registration and Intermediate. He moved to Islamabad for higher examinations and finished his graduation from the renowned Allama Iqbal College. Akhtar was basically a writer of the ghazal custom anyway he confined himself from being a generalization and examination his abilities in other sort of writing like nazam, fiction, novel and so forth. His verse assortments \u27Khawab Daan\u27 has been applauded by the pundits. Akhtar Raza saleemi is a perceived writer of both ghazal and nazm. He has distributed a few verse books and has been valued for his work by pundits. He remained in the class of verse till 2008 and afterward began exploring different avenues regarding the style of novel composition. His verse being viewed as a particular mix of dream and reality. As well as getting Joined Bank\u27s Best Fiction Author grant, he has two times won the Abasin Expressions Chamber Grant. Craftsman Wasi Haider made a thousand and one compositions for the front of his Saleemi\u27s clever Wake Up in a Fantasy, so the front of each duplicate of the primary version of this novel was unique
GLOBAL WARMING CHALLENGES AND TACTICAL RAMIFICATIONS: ADDRESSING ECOLOGICAL SECURITY CONCERNS
Get PDFHumanity has been facing frequent trials in the contemporary era. One seriously emerging challenge is global warming. It has a record of disastrous impacts on earth that are severe and cataclysmic. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change attributes mega-disasters to global warming. These environmental calamities have raised serious concerns for leaders, scientists, environmentalists as well as public. The defence experts warn about gradually changing weather tendencies and emerging of new security challenges. Global warming is causing continuous fluctuations in our fragile ecosystem, and any persistent malfunctioning in the ecosystem would affect the politico-economic, strategic, and even very existence of humanity. It would require rational choices and new strategic approaches for saving humanity and numerous organism species under global warming impacts. Strategists, in the future, will inevitably explore looming tactical security concerns to safeguard defence capabilities. Against this backdrop, this paper argues that global warming will create severe strategic complications. In the coming decades, traditional national defence systems will have to undergo a new transformation supportive to cope with emerging cataclysmic security issues due to global warming. Therefore, innovative lines of tactical ecological rationale will become an essential part of national defence.
Bibliography Entry
Shah, Syed Muhammad Ali, Shaheen Akhtar, and Fozia Bibi. 2021. "Global Warming Challenges and Tactical Ramifications: Addressing Ecological Security Concerns." Margalla Papers 25 (1): 12-22
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