The data suggest that Gd(DTPA)(2-)-enhanced MR imaging has potential for monitoring glycosaminoglycan content of cartilage in vivo.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, awareness and attitudes of medical students towards recently discovered coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted on medical students in CMH Lahore Medical College,(LMC), Institute of Dentistry (IOD). A questionnaire containing demographic information, 14 knowledge and eight attitude items was completed by 384 participants. Results: Overall, >90% people were aware about the etiology, mode of transmission and possible symptoms; however, very few of them knew about the in-depth details. Knowledge score revealed that 80% of participants had sufficient knowledge about coronavirus. MBBS students and nursing Students had significantly better knowledge in comparison with other students. In terms of attitude, >80% of students showed positive attitudes among which the nursing students were dominant. Conclusion: The medical students of CMH LMC showed a satisfactory level of awareness and attitudes towards COVID-19 with an obvious difference with regard to disciplines. More educational efforts with periodic educational interventions are still needed about the current pandemic. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2636 How to cite this:Ikhlaq A, Bint-e-Riaz H, Bashir I, Ijaz F. Awareness and Attitude of Undergraduate Medical Students towards 2019-novel Corona virus. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(COVID19-S4):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2636 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Objectives: To estimate the cancer incidence by age group and gender for the population of Karachi Division by analyzing the Karachi Cancer Registry data of 2017-19. Settings: The population of Karachi division is 16.1 million according to national census 2017. 'Karachi Cancer Registry' which is a part of 'National Cancer Registry' is collecting data from eight major hospitals in Karachi since 2017. For outcome measures, cancer counts and the age standardized incidence rates (ASIR) per 100,000 population were computed for age groups (0-14, 15-19 and ≥20 years), in both genders and all cancer site/type. Methods: The population denominators were based on the population of Karachi division estimated at 16.1 million in the population census, 2017. Counts and age-standardized incidence rates (ASIR) were calculated for each of the three age categories. Results: From Jan 2017 till Dec 2019 a total of 33,309 malignant cases were recorded in KCR database comprising 17,490 (52.5%) females and 15,819 (47.5%) males. ASIRs in age groups 0-14, 15-19 and ≥ 20 years, among female were 11.5, 2.4 and 223.6 and in males were 17.6, 3.2 and 216.7 respectively. The commonest diagnosis in children, adolescent and adults were (1) among females: children; bone (3.12), leukemia (2.09) brain/CNS (1.26); in adolescents: bone (0.78), brain/CNS (0.27), connective and soft tissue (0.11), in adults: breast cancer (76.07), oral cancer (16.68) and ovary (10.89) respectively, and (2) among males: children; bone (4.56), leukemia (2.79) and brain/CNS (1.88); in adolescent; bone (1.19), brain/CNS (0.31) and leukemia (0.21) and in adults: oral cancer (42.83), liver (16.10) and bone (13.37) respectively. Conclusion: Oral Cancer, a largely preventable cancer is the leading cancer in Karachi adult males while in female adults Breast Cancer is the leading cancer followed by Oral Cancer. In children and adolescents Bone, Leukemia and Brain/CNS malignancies are most common.

We describe the selection of 3 new multidrug-resistant cell lines derived from tumor cells of different metastatic phenotypes within the Dunning R3327 model of rat prostatic carcinoma. Cell lines of weak (AT2) and strong (AT3 and MAT-LyLu) metastatic behavior were cultured in vitro and challenged with doxorubicin at progressively increasing concentrations. Chemosensitivity was determined colorimetrically by release of precipitated formazan pigment (MTT assay). Expression of the multidrug-resistance glycoprotein (P-170) was monitored immunocytochemically and by Western blotting using monoclonal antibody C219. The behavior of the parental and resultant drug-resistant cells was assessed by their growth in syngeneic rats. Doxorubicin challenge of the initially drug-sensitive parental prostatic carcinoma cell lines resulted in the rapid development of multidrug resistance together with simultaneous expression of P-glycoprotein. While lung and lymph-node metastases developed in host animals inoculated with parental AT3 and MAT-LyLu cells, no metastases developed in the multidrug-resistant progeny of these cell lines. This study has shown that Dunning rat prostate-carcinoma cell lines, previously sensitive to different cytotoxic agents, rapidly become multidrug-resistant and express P-glycoprotein following exposure to doxorubicin. Furthermore, development of multidrug resistance is associated with a less aggressive tumor phenotype and loss of metastatic potential. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the non-metastatic phenotype of Dunning rat prostatic carcinoma cells is solely associated with expression of P-glycoprotein. These new multidrug-resistant cell lines exhibiting an altered behavioral phenotype will provide a valuable model with which to analyze the relationship between expression of P-glycoprotein and the metastatic phenotype of prostatic carcinoma cells.

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Amidst a time when there is the global pandemic of COVID-19 and high levels of stress and anxiety among people, it was pertinent to study if people have modified their health-seeking behavior. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was performed in Lahore to assess the change in behaviors of people before and during the pandemic. The results show that the health seeking behavior of the people has changed during the pandemic, resulting in an increased trend of self-medication and a decreased number of people visiting the hospital for their ailments. People preferred private health providers over the government facilities. This might be due to the misinformation, panic, and uncertainties spread by the social media. Governmental health care providers should consider these aspects while addressing the polices related to the pandemic.

Obesity has been defined as the excessive deposition of fats on the body. It presents a very significant risk to humanity, with debilitating consequences for healthcare systems worldwide. It has multiple effects on the body, including grave consequences on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Our project explores the latter. There are multiple studies available in the scientific literature that attempt to explain this phenomenon, all with limited success and conflicting results. This cross-sectional exploration of the topic was done on medical undergraduates to pick up on any correlations between peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and the markers of obesity (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and waist to hip ratio (WHR)). In general, we found that male participants had sizably higher PEFR values than females (r=0.540, p<0.01). Appropriate BMI is mandatory for the physiologic functioning of the human body. This work also statistically demonstrates a negative overall correlation between lung health and various parameters of obesity. Our work suggests a positive correlation between WHR and PEFR (r=0.325, p<0.01), BMI and PEFR (r=0.573, p=0.02), along with weight and PEFR (r=0.464, p<0.01). Maintaining a BMI and WHR in the normal range is essential for optimal physiological functioning and physical well-being.