Objectives: The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of fasting during Ramadan on plasma adiponectin and TNF-α levels. Methods: This is a cross sectional study, conducted at Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (FUUAST), Karachi, comprising a total of 55 (50%) females and 55 (50%) males whose ages ranged between 20 and 40 years, and fasted during Ramadan (June-July 2014) were enrolled in the study. Subjects were separated into normal weight, overweight and obese males and females. Anthropometric measurements and Fasting venous blood samples were taken at first and last (29th) day of Ramadan. Plasma adiponectin and TNF-alpha levels were assayed with ELISA kits. All values were calculated and presented as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) and by using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures. P values < 0.05 were accepted as significant. Results: Body mass index (BMI) (Kg/m2) in over-weight and obese male subjects exhibited considerable reduction (P<0.05; P<0.05), post Ramadan when compared to their respective pre Ramadan fasting weights. Noticeable and significant reduction was also observed in BMI of obese females (P<0.05). Post Ramadan Overweight Males (P<0.05) and Post Ramadan Obese Males (P<0.001) exhibited significantly elevated plasma adiponectin (μg/mL) values. While plasma adiponectin mean concentration of only obese females were significantly improved at last week of Ramadan (P<0.01). Fasting in Ramadan significantly decreased TNF-α (pg/mL) levels of post obese males and females than Pre-Ramadan-groups (P<0.05; P<0.01) respectively. Conclusion: The study reports of noticeable changes with Ramadan fasting resulting increase of plasma adiponectin and decrease of TNF-α levels as well as body weight. The study strongly suggests further investigations on larger sample sizes with possible association of dietary restrictions and weight loss on mechanism of enhanced adiponectin and reduced TNF-α in obese and overweight persons who fast on Ramadan pattern. How to cite this:Mushtaq R, Akram A, Mushtaq R, Khwaja S, Ahmed S. The role of inflammatory markers following Ramadan Fasting. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(1):77-81. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.1.95 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.

The startup accelerators help nascent startups grow by providing funding and resources. This paper summarizes a data driven analysis of startup accelerators success and presents their growth trends. The goal of this paper was to assess the effectiveness of accelerators. The methodology was to use data to compare US startups that went through the accelerator program with the startups many of which according to Kauffman Foundation failed within 5-6 years, and the businesses that went through accelerator program outside of the US. Data for accelerators was collected from seed-db.com and was filtered for those that were established from 2005-2014. The data shows that the number of accelerators in the US is in the rise, although the growth has slowed down significantly after a very high rise in 2012. Startups that graduated from accelerator programs have approximately 23% higher survival rate than other new businesses.

US and CT have high diagnostic performance in evaluating thyroid cartilage invasion. US is more sensitive than CT in diagnosing invasion of the thyroid cartilage; however, the difference is not statistically significant. US can be used to solve the diagnostic dilemma of the presence or absence of cartilage invasion when CT is inconclusive, as CT is more widely used in staging laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Imaging correlates of genetic expression have been found for prognostic and predictive biomarkers of some malignant diseases, including breast and brain tumors. This study tests the hypothesis that imaging findings correlate with relevant genomic biomarkers in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The present study was planned to investigate the level of cholesterol in obese/nonobese (normal) individuals according to their body mass index (BMI) and age in different population residing in Karachi. Aim: Comparison of serum cholesterol values of obese with normal subjects and comparison of BMI of obese and normal individuals. Methods: Selection of obese subjects was according to the WHO (1998) criteria. A total of 40 subjects 18-55 years of age participated in the study, among which 30 subjects (Mean Age = 29.47 ± 1.99) were obese (Mean BMI = 35.41 ± 0.878) and 10 were controls with Mean age = 21.00 ± 0.547 and BMI = 19.96 ± 0.432. An overnight fasting blood sample was obtained and serum total Cholesterol (T-CH) level was estimated. Results: Obese persons having Mean T-CH = 202.6 ± 14.3 and controls having Mean T-CH = 173.3 ± 14.0. The data were further divided into males and females. Obese females were 11 with their BMI 31.836 ± 0.21, mean age ranged at 28.73 ± 4.04 and T-CH 191.8 ± 21.8, while that of control females were 6 in number with their BMI ranged at 19.183 ± 0.507, age 21.000 ± 0.894 and Cholester 148.7 ± 16.0 in controls. Total numbers of obese males were 19 with their BMI ranged at 37.49 ± 1.14, age ranged at 29.89 ± 2.19 and cholesterol level ranged at 208.89 ± 19.1. Control males were 4 in number with their BMI ranged at 21.125 ± 0.075, age 21.250 ± 0.479 and their T-CH 128.7 ± 8.72. Conclusion: The results of current study have reflected that BMI and total cholesterol concentration are higher in obese subjects.

Purpose The cell surface LDL (low-density lipoprotein) receptor-related protein-1 (LRP-1) is important for lipid transport and several cell signaling processes. Human apolipoprotein E (apoE) is a ligand of LRP-1. We previously reported that a short peptide (apoEdp) mimicking the LRP-1 binding region of apoE prevents hyperglycemia-induced retinal endothelial cell dysfunction in vitro. The in-vivo outcome of apoE-based peptidomimetic inhibition of LRP-1 in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy is unknown. Methods Six months after streptozotocin induction of diabetes, male C57Bl/6 mice were intravitreally inoculated with apoEdp in a controlled release formulation. On the 15th day post-apoEdp treatment, mouse retinas were harvested to examine (1) blood–retinal–barrier (BRB) permeability by Evans blue dye, inflammatory leukostasis by concanavalin staining of leukocytes and LRP-1 pathway-related protein expression by Western blot analysis and gelatin zymography. Results Intravitreal apoEdp treatment of diabetic mice significantly reduced Evans blue extravasation and the number of adherent leukocytes in the diabetic mouse retinas. ApoEdp treatment inhibited the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) degrading proteases heparanase and MMP-2, and restores the BRB tight junction proteins occludin and ZO-1. ApoEdp treatment also inhibited Wnt/β-catenin-related expression of pro-inflammatory molecules ICAM-1, HIF-1α, and VEGF through negative regulation by LRP-1. Conclusion Intravitreal apoEdp treatment of diabetic mice resulted a significant decrease in retinal vascular abnormalities through downregulation of LRP-1-related ECM protein degradation and Wnt/β-catenin-related pro-angiogenic molecules.

Background: There are very few studies on the comparative diagnostic value of CEA and Ca19.9 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Aims and objectives: The aim of the present study was to access the clinical relevance of CEA and CA19.9 in ESCC and to determine whether combined use of these marker could improve diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Material and Method: Venous blood Samples were collected from total 68 individuals, divided into two categories, group 1 includes 18 healthy individuals and group 2 includes 50 patients with already diagnosed cases of ESCC prior to any treatment. Tests were performed to estimate the value of CEA and Ca19.9. Different statistical analysis has been performed to derive a clinically meaningful value.Results: The mean serum CEA and CA 19.9 levels and also the ratio of CEA/Ca19.9 were higher in patients with ESCC than healthy subjects. In ESCC, the optimal combination of sensitivity and specificity for CEA were determined as 48% and 94% and for CA19.9 were determined as 76% and 72% respectively, whereas combined analysis of CEA/CA19.9 were lower than individual value in patients. Over all accuracy rate was better with CA19. The diagnostic power of CEA and CA19-9 as a screening test for ESCC were assessed by ROC curve analysis. The cut-off value for CEA and CA19-9 in ESCC were found to be 2.9 2 ng/ml and 7.4 ng/ml and were found to be above the cut-off value in 25 (50%) and 42 (84%) of the patients with ESCC respectively.Conclusion: The results of our study indicated that serum CA19.9 has a higher positivity than serum CEA in esophageal cancer. The combined use of CA19-9 and CEA (ratio) could not increase the diagnostic sensitivity in esophageal cancers in our study.

The aim of this study is to report the process used to validate an educational Human Papillomavirus (HPV) pamphlet and a HPV video to use in a HPV intervention study for women of color to increase HPV knowledge, health beliefs, health behaviors and intention to use the HPV vaccine for themselves or members of the family. Methods: Fifteen women enrolled in a two part, two hour methodological pilot study to validate the appearance, content and readability of the educational pamphlet and video. Quantitative data was determined women completing two 4-pont Likert type questionnaires consisting of 10 items each. The qualitative data was retrieved with the use of a semi-structure interview. Results: Greater than 86% of the participants indicated that both educational tools were acceptable in appearance, content and readability/ understanding. Participants' responses suggested a change in the pamphlet color and use of more colored illustrations as well as condensing the video narrative with bulleted summary pages after each scene. Conclusion: The tools were well received by the participants. Next steps were identified toward revision. A HPV pamphlet and an HPV video were validated for use in a future intervention study. Future Considerations: More educational pamphlets identifying validation process for use in intervention studies for targeted high risk populations.