This paper examines the concept of "diversity" as mentioned in the Qur'an and how commonalities in diverse religions may be used as a model for civilizational dialogue towards achieving harmony. This study reveals that religious and cultural diversity are laws of nature which cannot be changed while the concept of "identity" is a contested issue in modern discourse. Results also show that peace may be established among diverse religions through their commonalities and the best way to exploit these commonalities and to reduce the religious divide is through civilizational dialogue. The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and other methods for changing the nature of religious differences and reaching a consensus-thus arriving at a peaceful co-existence-are also discussed. It was found that people are often misguided or divided in the name of religion and culture, despite the fact that the philosophy of every religion is based on peace and harmony.

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To study the various modes of presentation, diagnosis, and management of surgical emergencies of tubercular abdomen. This prospective study of surgical emergencies of tubercular abdomen was conducted in 50 patients who attended our surgical emergency from 2006 to 2008. Patients were evaluated thoroughly with history, physical examination, routine investigations, and special investigations such as ELISA, PCR, barium studies of gastrointestinal tract, and diagnostic laparoscopy as required and managed with medical and surgical treatment as necessary. The most of patients were from rural areas, in the third to sixth decades with slight male preponderance. Abdominal pain, vomiting, and constipation were commonest presenting symptoms. About 20 % patients had history of pulmonary tuberculosis and 16 % patients presented with ascites. PCR for blood and ascitic fluid was positive in 72 and 87.5 % patients, respectively. About 24 % patients were managed nonoperatively and responded to ATT. About 76 % patients needed surgery among which one-fifth of patients were operated in emergency. Procedures like adhesiolysis of gut (47.3 %), strictureplasty (10.5 %), resection anastomosis (5.2 %), right hemicolectomy (5.2 %), and ileotransverse anastomosis (7.8 %) were performed in 30 patients and peritoneal biopsy and lymph node biopsy in the remaining 8 patients. Both medically and surgically managed patients were put on antitubercular therapy. Abdominal tuberculosis is a disease of middle-aged rural people, presenting commonly with abdominal pain and vomiting with right lower abdominal tenderness.PCR (blood and ascites) for tuberculosis is much more sensitive than IgM ELISA (blood and ascites). The most of patients required surgical procedures and all patients responded dramatically to antitubercular therapy symptomatically with increase in the hemoglobin level and decrease in ESR.

Purpose of Review Human race is currently facing the wrath of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a highly transmittable and pathogenic RNA virus, causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the worst ever global pandemic. Coronaviruses (CoVs) have emerged as a major public health concern. Urgent global response to COVID-19 outbreak has been to limit spread of SARS-CoV-2 via extensive monitoring and containment. Various treatment regimens have been adopted to manage COVID-19, with known drugs and drug combinations used to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19. Intensive research on various fronts including studying molecular and structural aspects of these viruses and unraveling the pathophysiology and mechanistic basis of COVID-19 aimed at developing effective prophylactic, therapeutic agents and vaccines has been carried out globally. Recent Findings No approved antiviral treatment except remdesivir exists for SARS-CoV-2 till date though novel drug targets have been identified. However, worldwide frantic and competitive vaccine development pharmaceutical race has borne fruit in the form of a number of promising candidate vaccines, out of which few have already received emergency use authorization by regulatory bodies in record time. Summary This review highlights the painstaking efforts of healthcare workers and scientific community to successfully address the COVID-19 pandemic—though damage in the form of severe illness, loss of lives, and livelihood has left a serious mark. Focusing on extensive research on various therapeutic options and antiviral strategies including neutralizing antibodies, potential drugs, and drug targets, light has been shed on various diagnostic options and the amazing vaccine development process as well.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a consequence of complex interactions among multiple genetic variants and environmental risk factors. This complex disorder is also characterized by changes in various adipokines. In this study, our objective was to estimate the levels of adiponectin, leptin, and resistin (ALR) in T2DM patients, besides studying the effect of various drugs on their levels. Study participants included 400 diabetic and 300 normal patients from the Department of Endocrinology and Department of Biochemistry, Govt Medical College Srinagar. Subjects were categorized under various groups, i.e., Group 1 (metformin treated) and Group 2 (glimepiride treated), and cases were also categorized as obese with T2DM (Group A), obese without T2DM (Group B), and T2DM only (Group C). The serum ALR levels were estimated by ELISA (Alere), and biochemical parameters were also evaluated before and after treatment. Adiponectin levels were found to be significantly lower in T2DM cases as compared to controls (12 ± 5.5 versus 22.5 ± 7.9 μg/ml), while leptin and resistin levels were found to be significantly higher than controls (14.3 ± 7.4 versus 7.36 ± 3.73 ng/ml) (13.4 ± 1.56 versus 7.236 ± 2.129 pg/ml). Taking the effect of drugs into consideration, the effect on adiponectin and resistin levels was found to be highly significant in Group 2 before and after treatment (11 ± 5 versus 19.2 ± 4.5 μg/ml) (13.6 ± 2.5 versus 7.3 ± 2.9 pg/ml), while more effect was observed in leptin among Group 1 (metformin)-treated cases (27 ± 15 ng/ml versus 15 ± 15 ng/ml). Further the adiponectin levels were found to be significantly lower in Group B, while leptin and resistin levels were found to be significantly higher among obese cases when compared to T2DM cases only. Glimepiride also shows more effect on FBG, HbA1c% levels, while metformin shows more effect on Lipid profile levels. From the study, it can be concluded that ALR levels are affected by use of antidiabetic drugs among which glimepiride shows more effect on adiponectin and resistin levels, while leptin gets affected more by metformin. It can also be proposed that ALR levels are not affected by diabetes only, suggesting that their alterations in T2DM may be due to obesity as we observed more ALR changes in obese cases when compared to T2DM cases, and so there might be an important link between adiposity and insulin resistance.

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