[en] In view of the immense capability of plants this work is planned to employ seed extract as a source for the reduction of Cuions in to Cu nanoparticles (Cu NPs). For this purpose seed extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek seeds) was utilized as a substitute of classical methods. This green path for synthesizing Cu NPS is easy, natural, low cost, sustainable and eco-friendly as compared to conventional methods. In this experiment harmful chemical/physical methods for the production of Cu nanoparticles is replaced by using minimum concentration of seed extract. The stepwise characterization was done by using Atomic Absorption spectroscopy, UV-Vis Spectroscopy, FTIR spectrophotometer and X-ray diffraction (XRD) which have given much valuable information about these materials. Antibacterial activity of these nanoparticles is observed at different concentration so their ZOI (Zone of inhibition) and MIC (minimum inhibitory Concentration) was also calculated against four human pathogenic strains. (author)

[en] Oesophageal carcinoma is the leading cause of death from cancers. Most of the oesophageal carcinomas are either squamous cell carcinomas or adeno-carcinomas. The cervical oesophagus is an uncommon site of the disease. There is an increase of 15-20 percent mortality rate over the past two to three decades, during which time the histologic pattern of the disease has also changed significantly. The objective of this study was to see the incidence of oesophageal carcinoma in different sex and age groups, in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. This was a retrospective study over a period of 7 years which was designed to assess age and sex incidence for oesophageal carcinoma in Northern Areas of Pakistan. A total of 69 already diagnosed carcinomas of the oesophagus were included in the study, all these cases were from Malakand Division of Northern Pakistan. All specimens were stained and examined microscopy. The demography of the disease and type of carcinoma were evaluated. Out of 69 diagnosed cases of oesophageal carcinomas, squamous cell carcinoma was the found in 64 (92.5%) while adenocarcinoma was seen in 5 (7.5%) cases. Out of 64 squamous cell carcinomas, moderately differentiated carcinomas were the most common 34 (49.2%). Most of the oesophageal carcinomas were squamous cell carcinomas and were mostly biopsied from the lower 1/3 of the oesophagus. The mean age of patients was 42 years in males (M) and 53 years in females (F). F:M was 1:3. All patient presented in advanced stage with dysphagic symptoms. No in situ or mucosal carcinoma was identified in this study. Radiological assessment also showed late stages of the disease. (author)

[en] Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is fruit oil with rich source of monounsaturated fats and powerful antioxidants. It acts as hypolipidemic agent and significant decrease of plasma lipids levelwas observed with EVOO use. Atorvastatin is hypolipidemic drug commonly used for treatment of hyperlipidaemia. The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the lipid lowering effect of EVOO with atorvastatin in type 2 diabetic dyslipidaemia which is leading cause of microvascular diseases. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 already diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus with dyslipidaemia. All sixty subjects were divided into 2 groups. Atorvastatin 40mg was given to Group One and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil orally per day was given to Group Two. Blood was collected for estimation of plasma lipids level at base line, 4th week, and 6th weeks in two groups and was compared statistically. Results: The present study demonstrated 20-40% lipid lowering effect of atorvastatin on plasma lipids level with 9-16% increase in HDL while extra virgin olive oil showed 14 to 25% reduction in plasma lipids with 8-12% increase in HDL-cholesterol level. Conclusion: This study concludes that both atorvastatin and extra virgin olive oil are effective in reducing plasma lipids level in type 2 diabetic dyslipidaemia with more prominent effect of atorvastatin than EVOO. (author)

[en] Background: Thyrotoxicosis is defined as increased synthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones; when associated with defused goitre it is known as grave's disease. Hepatic changes in thyrotoxicosis are fatty changes, cirrhosis and centrilobular necrosis, resulting in elevated serum levels of liver specific enzymes ALT, AST and ALK. Objective of the study was to determine a correlation between plasma levels of 3 liver enzymes, and thyroid hormones in thyrotoxic cases, and matched controls in Hazara Division. Methods: This study was conducted at Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad from first July 2004 to June, 30 2007. The controls were selected from staff and students of Ayub Medial College Abbottabad. Fifty cases of thyrotoxicosis and 50 controls were included in this study by convenience sampling. Their thyroid profile for T3, T4, TSH and liver enzymes profile for ALT, AST, ALK were determined and analysed for a correlation. Results: Mean T3 of cases was 5.23 +- 1.95 and of controls 1.95 +- 0.35. Mean T4 of case was 248.88 +- 62.75, and of controls was 113.40 +- 19.01. Mean TSH of cases was 0.07 +- 0.25 and that of controls was 2.24 +- 0.80. Mean ALT of cases was 38.78 +- 4.96 while that of controls was 23.98 +- 5.27. Mean AST of cases was 39.76 +- 5.05 and of controls was 26.52+- 4.49. Mean ALK of cases was 299.68 +- 22.32 and of controls was 155.10+- 7.07. Conclusion: Although liver enzymes levels were slightly elevated in many thyrotoxic cases, no significant correlation emerged between any of the thyroid hormones and any of the liver enzymes, either in cases or controls. (author)

[en] Combining ability was studied for identification of potential cultivars and hybrids in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in a 6x6 set of diallel crosses among six genotypes of cotton, i.e., VH-232, CRS-2007, SB-149, GR-156, FH-207, and MARVI carried out on fiber length, fiber fineness, fiber elongation, fiber strength, ginning out tern (GOT) and seed cotton yield. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant (p < 0.01) differences among the genotypes for all traits. Combining ability studies showed that the mean squares, due to general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and reciprocal effects were highly significant in F1 generation. Genetic components, due to GCA and SCA, revealed that traits, such as, fiber length, strength and fineness, showed high proportion of additive type of gene action in F1 generation because of greater GCA variances were greater than SCA variance. GR-156 was the best combiner for lint percentage and fiber length. FH-207 was the best combiner for fiber fineness. FH-207, MARVI and SB-149 were the best general combiners for fiber character and were suggested to be used in future breeding programme to improve fiber quality traits. CRS-2007 x GR-156, CRS-2007 x MARVI, SB-149 x MARVI and VH-232 x SB-149 had higher specific combining ability and reciprocal effects and they can be used for future breeding programme to improve fiber quality. (author)

[en] Cotton is an essential fiber and oilseed crop cultivated in semi-dry to arid atmosphere rage in various parts of the world. For a successful breeding program, it is of extreme significance for the plant breeders to have knowledge of genetic variability present in the breeding material. Therefore, present investigations were carried out to make sense of genetic relatedness and differences on the basis of morphological traits (tap root length, lateral root number and root volume) and molecular markers (SSR) among 30 upland Bt cotton genotypes developed by public and private sector. Results of morphological data indicated that maximum Tap root length, lateral root numbers and root volume were recorded for genotypes BH-178, BH-180 and CIM- 602 respectively. So, these genotypes may be used in breeding program to improve respective trait. Meanwhile for molecular study Out of 40 markers, 20 were found polymorphic among 30 genotypes. Total number of alleles opened up by these markers were 116 while 90 were found polymorphic demonstrating 22% genetic diversity with 4.50 alleles for each locus on an average. Dendrogram demonstrated a most extreme range of closeness from 78 to 98%. Least likeness (78%) was seen among the lines FH-142 and TARZAN-1, though, most extreme (98 %) was seen between the lines FH-113 and FH-114. It is direly expected to incorporate exotic cotton germplasm to expand magnitude of genetic variability which may bring improvement in seed cotton yield and other economic traits in cotton crop. (author)

[en] Magnesium serves as a cofactor for various oxidation reactions in the body and helps in glucose transport across cell membrane. Deficiency of magnesium is a common electrolyte abnormality in type 2 diabetic patients and is linked to development of various diabetic complications. This study was conducted to determine the association between low serum magnesium level and type 2 diabetes mellitus presenting at Medical B ward, BBS Hospital Abbottabad. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted over a period of 6 months starting July 1, 2017. One hundred and eighty diagnosed diabetic patients aged at least 40 years, were included in the study. Their serum magnesium level was checked after withdrawing blood under strict aseptic conditions. Fasting and random blood glucose and the level of glycosylated haemoglobin were measured and age, gender, duration of illness were recorded on a proforma. RESULTS: Sixty-one patients (33.89%) had hypomagnesemia. There was no significant association between hypomagnesemia and age and sex of patients (p>0.05). However, hypomagnesemia was found to be significantly associated with the duration of diabetes mellitus among study population (p=0.02). Conclusion: Hypomagnesemia is frequently present in patients with diabetes mellitus and it appears that its prevalence increases with the duration of diabetes mellitus. (author)

[en] The thermos-solutal convection in porous medium can be categorized as aiding and opposing flow depending upon the value of buoyancy ratio (N) which indicates the relative buoyancy between heat and mass transfer. The positive value of buoyancy ratio leads to aiding flow whereas the negative value of N results into different pattern of flow commonly known as opposing flow. The present article is an extension of the article to predict the thermos-solutal convection for aiding flow but to focus on opposing flow. The prediction is carried out a relatively new technique known as artificial neural network. The results are discussed with respect to the Nusselt as Sherwood number along the hot wall of cavity. (paper)

[en] Artificial neural network is a technique to predict the outcome of a function depending on various input parameters that could be either or geometric variables. This technique is widely used in many fields to predict an outcome. The current article discusses the usage of artificial neural network to predict conjugate heat transfer behaviour inside the porous cavity. The artificial neural network is run with neurons placed in multiple layers. The heat transfer inside the porous cavity is predicted in terms of Nusselt number which shows the convective heat transfer in relation to its conduction counterpart. The heat transfer prediction is compared with the results obtained by finite element method. (paper)

[en] Heat transfer in porous medium has been an intense field of study for many years that has tremendously improved our understanding about the heat flow behavior in porous region. Finite element method has been widely acknowledged to be one of the most robust numerical techniques that has proven its capability in handling the tedious and complex set of equations representing various phenomenon. The present research investigates the heat transfer inside a L shaped porous domain having heated from bottom surface and cooled at the top edge. Finite element method is used with the help of triangular element to divide the porous domain into smaller segments. The results are discussed with respect to various physical parameters affecting the heat transfer behaviour. (paper)