Pakistan BioMedical Journal

Physical Inactivity and Health

Rizmi Naseer — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Health is the measure of our body’s efficiency and over-all well-being. Health triangle consisting of physical, social, and mental health is a standard for many health aspects. Physical activity (PA) is any bodily movement that uses energy produced by the skeletal muscles. It is obvious that PA is important for both social and physical development. Physical inactivity has a large-scale detrimental influence on health-related concerns such as cardiovascular disease (including hypertension and stroke), hyperlipidemia, obesity, depression, and anxiety, which is the root of many non-communicable diseases. Approximately 60-85% of the world's population is unable to meet the minimum daily PA recommendation. It is estimated that 2 million people die each year because of physical inactivity. Insufficient activity increased by 5% (from 31.6-36.8%) in high-income countries between 2001 and 2016. Globally, 81% of adolescents aged 11-17 years were insufficiently physically active in 2016 [1]. In Pakistan, levels of PA are far from adequate. Overall, sedentary lifestyle is prevalent, and 58.7% subjects had no or low PA in their routine daily lives. Medium-level PA was observed in 34.8% of male and 39.8% of female subjects [2].

Several benefits and risks are associated with physical activity. Regular physical exercise has been shown to aid in the prevention and management of noncommunicable illnesses. PA lowers the risk of some types of cancer. It can be used to control and treat type II diabetes (noninsulin-dependent), as well as to preserve bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. It also aids in the prevention of hypertension, the maintenance of a healthy body, improvement of mental health and quality of life. Furthermore, PA has been used to maintain and increase weight and gives physical, social, emotional, and cognitive advantages. Promoting physical activity in the early stages of life is critical for children's and adults' healthy development. In Pakistan sedentary lifestyle is growing with rapid urbanization and modernization. Use of television, mobile and social media has increased. Number of sedentary jobs have raised in recent years and health is suffering because of all that inactivity. Several infectious and non-infectious diseases are prevailing within the population dye to physical inactivity. Following the global approach, healthy lifestyle and diet culture should be promoted in workplaces and households. Newest versions of research questionnaires and surveys used globally, need to be used in Pakistan. Different scales are needed to be devised and assessed contemplating socio-economic and geographic profile of Pakistan. National wide analysis of knowledge, attitude, and practice of is also recommended that will help stakeholders and government for taking adequate and direct initiatives for an ultimate healthy community.

Frequency of Cathetrization in the Management of Overt Postpartum Urinary Retention

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Urinary retention after postpartum can be defined as “inability of the patient to pass urine after six hours of postpartum. Objective: To determine the role of catheterization in patients with postpartum urinary retention. Methods: It was multicenter study. Patients from five different hospitals were included in the study. Duration of study was one and half years. Patients suffering from overt postpartum urinary retention who refused self intermittent catheterization were included in the study. Results: Total 68 patients were included in the study from five different teaching hospitals. In Social Security Teaching Hospital 13 patients, in Lady Wallingdon Hospital 32patients, in Lahore General Hospital 13, in Ali Fatima Teaching Hospital 12 and in Central Park Hospital 8 patients were reported. The age of these patients was from 18 to 29 years with a mean age of 21 years (+ 1.6). The duration of catheterization was from 3 to 18 days with mean days was 7 (+ 1.8). Conclusions: In overt type of postpartum urinary retention, early treatment results in saving patients to develop long term urinary complications.

Comparative Study of Hematological Profile Variation in Three Trimesters of Pregnancy

Madiha Iqbal, Anam Farzand, Ijaz Ahmad, Sidra Iqbal, Azka Mubeen — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Pregnancy or gestation is a physiological condition in which various physiological changes occur. Although pregnancy is a normal phenomenon, several hematological parameters are varied to fulfill the needs of the developing fetus. Sometimes pregnancy becomes complicated due to these changes. Objective: To determine the changes in the hematological profile of healthy pregnant females. Methods: 180 females aged 21 to 34 participated in this study and were placed in a first, second, and third group according to their trimesters, while the fourth group was the control. Each contained 45 females. These women were examined for 12 hematological parameters. Results: When compared with control, it was observed that Hb and RBCs (p-value < 0.05) were lower than control while WBCs (p-value ≤ 0.03) were increased. MCV, MCH and MCHC (p-value < 0.05) showed discontinuous variations along three trimesters. Increase in platelets and neutrophils while a decrease in monocytes, eosinophils, and lymphocytes was observed (p-value <0.02). Conclusions: This study reported several changes in pregnant females' hematological parameters, which helped determine the reference ranges for these parameters. Moreover, pregnant women should have a balanced diet, and their hematological profile should be regularly monitored

Functional and Network Exploration of RNA Seq data of Breast Cancer

Tehreem Anwar, Mirza Jawad ul Hasnain, Vina Kanwal — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This study comprised of RNASeq data analysis of breast cancer. It includes statistical, functional and network analysis by various bioinformatics tools. Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women and affects everyone, including the young and elderly, rich and poor, women and children. Objective: To explore dataset of breast cancer, network and functional wise. Although there is extensive research on breast cancer, in silico studies on this topic are very rare. Methods: The study makes use of GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) database from where data was collected. The data obtained of Breast cancer samples was normalized for which R language was used (using Limma, RPKM values) which eventually gave differentially expressed genes which were mainly involved in causing this Breast cancer and up- and down-regulatory genes were found using logFC values. Then functional analysis of these up- and down-regulated genes was performed using David Software. Then network analysis was performed, which showed the co-relation between the genes in making this Breast cancer prevalent in patients. Finally, importance of our genes was studied by using cBioPortal database. Results: Six important and novel genes were identified as differentially expressing through R software. Functional and network analysis and their significance studied by cBioportal dictated several potential genes taking part in important cancer and other pathways paving way for further research. Conclusions: The pathways and candidate genes were selected based on high enrichment score and these genes and pathways play a significant role in breast cancer.

Particulate Matter Concentration and Microbial Load in Heavy Traffic Areas of District Lahore, Pakistan

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A major threat to the environment and public health is air pollution. Previous research has looked at the harmful health impacts of both short- and long-term particulate matter exposure. In addition, PM (particulate matter) of fine or coarse size (PM 2.5 and PM 10) was linearly related with mortality, with PM 2.5 being associated with long-term mortality and PM10 being connected with short-term mortality. Traffic congestion is one of the foremost problems. Objective: To characterize gram positive and gram negative airborne bacteria from air samples of heavy traffic areas. Methods: These were assessed using direct as well as indirect sampling technique. A total of 40 samples 10 from each traffic areas (i.e., Bhatti Gate, Bohr wala chowk, Chauburji and Railway Station) were collected. These were collected with the help of Mini Vol portable air sampler. Filter papers containing particulate matter 2.5 and 10 were placed on prepared petri dishes. The petri dishes were then kept in an incubator for 24 hours at 37 °C, the appearances of colonies were characterized and proceeded for morphological and biochemical identification. Results: The results showed the presence of different bacteria including Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp. Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeroginosa. Conclusion: It was found that air was heavily polluted with PM 10 and micrococcus aureus.

Breast Cancer- Awareness and Early Detection

Prof Dr Riffat Mehboob — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous group of neoplasms originated via epithelial cells, which line the milk ducts. Breast tumor heterogeneity is matter of discussion and research in histology and clinical outcomes for a long span of time, and these differences pave the paths to disease classification. Out of the few tumor types which successfully use the molecular classification for the design of individualized therapies, BC is one of them. These types of tumors lead to significant improvements in disease-specific survival. The classification based on comprehensive gene expression profiling, divides the breast tumors into at least three broad subtypes: luminal, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2+, and basal like.

In both developed and under development countries, BC is the most common type of cancer in females. To be precise, one out of ten cancers identified each year in female is BC. Moreover, it’s a worldwide major cause of deaths occurring among women due to cancer. According to the WHO's 2008 GLOBOCAN, BC is the most frequent cancer in women, affecting an estimated 1.38 million people [1]. Among the Asian population, Pakistan reports the highest incidence of BC i.e., 19.33% [2]. The established risk factors of BC are linked to oestrogens. Risks are increased by several factors including early menarche, late menopause, and obesity in postmenopausal women. Increasing concentrations of endogenous oestradiol also increased risk of BC. Childbearing somehow reduces risk, with a greater protection for early first birth and a larger number of births; illustrated as breastfeeding probably has a protective effect. Moreover, the oral contraceptives and hormonal therapy for menopause both tend to cause a little increase in breast-cancer risk, which appears to diminish once use stops. Alcohol also increases risk, whereas physical activity probably declines. Mutations in certain genes like BRCA1 and BRCA2 also massively enhance the risk to BC, but these certainly account for a minority of cases. Of all the key challenges that occur during BC research, mapping of pathways that give rise to metastasis is one of them. Recent studies have done analysis of gene expression profiles to identify markers which correlate with metastasis. Clinical and pathological risk factors, such as patient age, tumor size, and steroid receptor status, are commonly used to assess the likelihood of metastasis development.

In Pakistan socioeconomic factors are to blame for the poor health of women especially in rural communities. One in nine Pakistani women have had BC at some point in their lives. There are no screening facilities for the diagnosis of different types of cancer, and a lot of women lose their lives to BC each year. Most Pakistani women are impoverished and unable to pay for costly screening exams. Talking about BC is considered a taboo and women don’t talk about it due to shyness. Campaigns on awareness of BC are needed country wide specially targeting rural areas. Women who are above 40 should be suggested to get mammogram time to time. Women should be advised to do Breast self-examination (BSE) once a month for detection of cancer at an early stage.

Biodegradation and Biotechnological Approaches for the Control of Plastic Pollution on Land and Ocean

Kanwal Ghafoor, Mehroz Farhan — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Nowadays, constantly increasing plastic pollution is the primary area of scientific research worldwide. The excessive use of this synthetic polymer has led to its accumulation in the environment. A large number of marine organisms are at risk because of plastic debris jeopardizing their survival and many are already at the stake of endangerment. The conventional plastic waste management techniques are inadequate as their by-products are also hazardous to environment and oceans. Microbes exposed to plastic waste and producing catalytic enzyme have proved to be one of the finest approaches to tackle this ever-increasing problem of plastic waste. This biodegradation occurs through various steps including biodeterioration and depolymerization. Recent advances in system biology and genetic engineering techniques can pave path towards better plastic degradation. This review highlights the toxic impact of nano and microplastic on environment and ocean and how futuristic research in biodegradation can solve the issue of plastic pollution.

Microbial Degradation of Industrially Important Textile Dyes

Mehroz Farhan — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The high demand for dyes in the paper, cosmetic, clothing, leather, and food industries drives up the use of dyes as a result of industrialization. As a result, wastewater production from dye manufacturing activities will rise. The presence of dyes and their structural compounds in wastewater from industrial sources place humans, animals and plants lives at risk. Synthetic dyes are more challenging to decolorize because they are more resistant to chemical and physical remediation than natural dyes. Microbial degradation has been investigated and checked mainly to speed up dye degradation. This paper discusses types of textile dyes and its biodegradation from a scientific and technological standpoint. It also compiles data on the factors that influence dye(s) biodegradation, the role of microbial species in the dye(s) degradation process, and future research directions in this field.

Recent Progress on Carotenoids Production from Microalgae: A review

Mariam Waseem — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The color of fruits and green vegetables is attributed to a pigment known as carotenoids. On the basis of presence and absence of oxygen, carotenoids are divided into two categories; carotenes which do not contain oxygen and xanthophylls which are oxygen carrier. Carotenoids are not only good anti-oxidant agents; they also exhibit anti-tumor properties. The structure of carotenoids consists of eight isoprene units, which forms a chain consisting of conjugated double bonds. The presence of conjugated double bond in carotenoids neutralize free radicals by accepting electrons from them. Till now, most of the carotenoids commercially available are produced chemically however, microalgae are a good source of carotenoids. Microalgae can produce the carotenoids in abundance using two-stage cultivation strategies. In first phase, microalgae are given with optimal growth conditions for maximum production of biomass, on the other hand, keeping the second phase for the storage of lipids or carotenoids in unfavorable conditions. The production of carotenoids in two-stage approach is increased by many times than the conventional single phase cultivation method. Carotenoids have many industrial applications.