Background: Present study aimed to investigate prevalence of Giardia intestinalis and Hymenolepis nana in Afghan refugees visiting Central Health Unit (CHU), Kot Chandana (Mianwali, Northern Punjab) during two years period (February 2007 to December 2009. Methods: A total of 687 stool samples were collected from different age groups of both genders. Samples were processed under sterile conditions after gross examination. Microscopic examination was done on same day along with eggs (H. nana), cyst and trophozoites (G. intestinalis) detection after staining.Results: The prevalence of G. intestinalis was significantly higher (x2=59.54, p<0.001) than that of H. nana. Females were found more likely to be infected as compared to males (OR: 1.40, 95% CI=1.03-1.92). Prevalence of both parasites decreased with age and highest prevalence was observed in young individuals belonging to 1-15 years of age group (41.8% and 48.7% respectively for H. nana and G. intestinalis, p<0.001). Abdominal distress (OR: 1.13, 95%CI=0.83-1.53), vomiting (OR: 1.13, 95%CI=1.13-1.81) and rectal prolapse (OR: 4.26, 95%CI=1.38-13.16) were the gastro-intestinal clinical symptoms observed in G. intestinalis. Whereas, bloody diarrhea (OR: 1.56, 95%CI=1.00-2.43) and rectal prolapse (OR: 5.79, 95%CI=1.87-17.91) were associated with H. nana infections. Conclusions: Intestinal parasitic infections are common among Afghan refugees and serious preventive measures should be implemented to promote the safety and healthy lifestyle of these people.
Background: Cancer being the principle cause of death in both developed and developing countries; the problem is more likely to increase around the globe due to rapid population growth and aging. The aim of this study was to find the effect of chemotherapy on hemoglobin, total leucocytes count, and platelets level. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and through conveinent sampling technique, blood samples from cancer patients were studied in a pathology lab at the INOR cancer hospital in Abbottabad, KPK, Pakistan. During the months of September to December 2017, 200 cancer patients visited INOR Cancer Hospital Abbottabad. The haematology analyzer Mindray BC 5000 was used to analyse various parameters of cancer blood samples. The effects of chemotherapy on blood counts were documented in Microsoft Excel 2007. Results: A total of two hundreds cancer patients were recruited in the study. Among total, 44% (n=88) were male patients and 46% (n=112) were female patients. all hematological parameters including hemoglobin, total leucocytes count, and platelets level were decrease after chemotherapy. Conclusion: Chemotherapy is the most effective method of treating cancer patients. It progressively restores normal levels of WBCs, RBCs, Hb, and PLTs. It is beneficial in order to reduce the blood cells burden on patients. Moreover, it is determined that blood cells become normal after chemotherapy. Keywords: Hematological parameters, Blood cancer, Chemotherapy, Bone maroow, Tumor, Cancer patients
We demonstrate a morphological change in [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text] 0–5%) samples from rod-like ([Formula: see text] 2%) to flower-like ([Formula: see text] 2%) with increasing Cu concentration. This effect is attributed to Cu induced change in the ZnO growth mode from one-dimensional (forming rod-like) to two-dimensional (forming flower-like) structures. The optical properties of the samples were also found to be well correlated with the observed morphological changes in the samples. Optical bandgap decreases with increasing [Formula: see text], exhibiting a minimum (2.88[Formula: see text]eV) at [Formula: see text] 2% and afterwards it increases slightly up to 3.00[Formula: see text]eV for [Formula: see text] 5%. Our results show an intriguing possibility of bandgap tuning by the sample morphology.
In this work, Cobalt (0-10) % doped MgO nanoparticles are prepared for magnetic and optical studies. X-ray diffraction studies show the particle size increases from 3.10 nm to 9.50 nm with increasing Cobalt concentration in MgO samples. The secondary phases are observed beyond 5% Cobalt in the host MgO which indicates the solubility limit of dopant in this material. SEM analysis further reconfirms the purity and spherical morphology of nanoparticles in all samples. Its result also reveals that the smallest particles have the largest oxygen vacancy concentration as compared to other samples. The dopant and size-induced effects are observed for electronic absorption spectra and bandgap of the samples. UV-visible absorption spectra show a quantum confinement effect as the optical band gap decreases with the increase of the particle size. The optical band gap of the nanoparticles ranges from 4.68 eV to 3.15 eV which is very less in comparison with the bulk MgO band gap up to 7.2eV. Vibrating sample magnetometer studies at room temperature clearly show the ferromagnetic behavior for pure MgO nanoparticles in contrast with the paramagnetic behavior for other samples. It is suggested that the presence of the ferromagnetic behavior in pure MgO nanoparticles are due to the presence of oxygen vacancies.
Background: Toxoplasmosis is a universal zoonotic disease approximately 30-50% of the individuals throughout the world have antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women of Peshawar. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2017 to December 2017. A total of 94 pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics were enrolled and screened for IgG and IgM antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii using the ICT technique. Results: Of the 94 pregnant women, 20 (21.3%) have either IgG or IgM antibodies detected against Toxoplasma gondii. Overall, positivity rate of IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii was 14.9% while positivity rate of IgM antibodies was 6.3% in pregnant females. Highest sero-positivity was observed in elder age pregnant females with 8.51% in age age group 43-53 years. Conclusion: It is concluded that about one-fifth of the pregnant women in the present study were infected with Toxoplasma gondii parasites so the preventive method should be considered. Keywords: Toxoplasmosis, prevalence, pregnant women.
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