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TThe contamination of soil and water with heavy metals is one of the major environmental problems in the world. Oil and gas exploration and production activities contaminate the environment with heavy metals. In this study, heavy metal concentration was assessed in drilling waste discharges of different oil and gas wells at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Moreover, the concentration of heavy metals in the soil surrounding the drilling waste discharges was determined. The representative samples were collected from seven oil and gas drilling waste discharges and the surrounding soil. The collected samples were analyzed for selected heavy metals (Ba, Pb Cr, Cd, Zn, Mn, and Ni) by atomic absorption spectrometric standard methods. Analysis showed that oil and gas well drilling operation waste is enriched with determined heavy metals. The high concentration of heavy metals, particularly Ba and Pb, was also found in the surrounding soil samples. In particular, Ba concentration varied from 1050 to 4168 mg/kg soil. Statistical correlational analysis depicted a common origin of the heavy metals in the soil of the study area, potentially the drilling waste discharges from oil and gas wells. The concentration of heavy metals in oil and gas well drilling waste discharge high, and also affects surrounding soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic variants of bovine Beta-casein protein (CSN2) gene especially A1 and A2 are the most important variants in dairy cattle. A1 milk protein is considered as risk factor for different disease and milk intolerance which release Beta-Casomorphin-7 during digestion which is a bioactive opioid but not released from A2 milk protein. This opioid is responsible for several human health problems like Coronary Heart disease, type 1 diabetics, milk intolerance and other neurological disorders. In present study, 360 blood sample were collected from Lohani, Achai, jersey, Holstein Friesian, Achai x jersey, Friesian x Sahiwal and Sahiwal x Friesian from different region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons were sequenced for the identification of polymorphism in exon 7 of Beta-casein protein (CSN2) gene. Sequencing analysis explored CSN2 genotype in exon 7 using the Genomic sequence from GenBank (X.71104) g.8101 C > A at codon 67. The allelic and genotypic frequencies of CSN2 gene were analyzed and observed that Holstein Friesian cattle exhibited A1A2 33%, A1A1 50% and A2A2 17%, Jersey cattle show 68% A1A1, 18% A1A2 and 14% A2A2, Sahiwal x Friesian 56% A1A1, 26% A1A2 and 18% A2A2, Jersey × Achai 78% A2A2, 15% A1A2 and 7% A1A1, Achai 100% A2A2 Lohani 100% A2A2. This is a preliminary study, conducted with meager resources, therefore, it is very difficult to make conclusion that which particular breed possess harmful alleles and which breed possess useful alleles of beta-casein gene. Therefore, a comprehensive molecular work is needed to be performed with greater number of samples sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The receptor activator NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and Osteoprotegrin (OPG) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with the risk of breast cancer to bone metastasis. This study was designed to investigate the association of RANKL and OPG gene polymorphisms with breast to bone metastasis in Pashtun population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Materials and methods: A total of 215 participants were enrolled containing 106 breast cancer patients, 58 breast to bone metastasis and 51 age and gender matched healthy controls. RANKL (rs9533156) and OPG (rs2073618, rs3102735) polymorphisms were genotyped in genomic DNA, using Tetra-ARMS PCR protocol. The results were analyzed among the three groups and P-value less then 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Our results displayed significant association of OPG (rs3102735) risk allele and corresponding genotypes in breast cancer vs healthy controls, bone metastasis vs healthy controls and breast cancer vs breast to bone metastasis as a disease risk. However, there was no association observed for OPG (rs2073618) risk allele and corresponding genotypes with the diseases risk. Similarly, RANKL (rs9533156) risk allele and corresponding genotypes in breast cancer vs healthy controls, bone metastasis vs healthy controls and breast cancer vs breast to bone metastasis exhibited significant association except for the risk allele carrying genotypes in breast to bone metastasis. Conclusion: OPG (rs3102735) and RANKL (rs9533156) exhibited significant association with breast to bone metastasis while OPG (rs2073618) didn't show significant association with breast to bone metastasis in Pashtun population of Pakistan. However, this study unlocks more questions to investigate the exact scenario of genetic predisposition of breast to bone metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To find out various factors responsible for delay in thrombolysis in patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in District Head Quarters hospital Timergara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Data was collected from January 2017 to December 2017. All patients admitted to Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) with acute STEMI were enrolled in the study. Sample size of the study was 261. After administering emergency treatment, all patients were inter- viewed regarding duration of onset of chest pain, hospital arrival time and any factor responsible for delay between onset of chest pain and hospital arrival. Thrombolysis was done and time of thrombolysis was recorded. Results: Mean age of the patients was 60 ± 8 years (28-90 years). Out of total 261 patients, 176 (66.92 %) were thrombolysed. Misconception of having other disease like gastric problem and misdiagnosis by general physician were most common factors responsible for delay in hospital arrival. Conclusion: Misconception of having other disease like gastric problem and misdiagnosis by general physician are most common factors responsible for delay in hospital arrival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the JAK2 gene on the production and mastitis related traits in dairy cattle. Blood and milk samples were collected from 201 lactating dairy cattle of three breeds, i.e. Holstein Friesian (HF), Jersey (J) and Achai (A) and their crosses maintained at well-established dairy farms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Generalized linear model was used to evaluate the association between genotypes and the studied traits. A DNA pool was made from randomly selected 30 samples which revealed three SNPs, i.e. SNP 1 in 5' upstream region (G>A, rs379754157), SNP 2 in intron 15 (A>G, rs134192265), and SNP 3 in exon 20 (A>G, rs110298451) that were further validated in the population under study using SNaPshot technique. Of the three SNPs, SNP 1 did not obey Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P<0.05). SNP 2 and SNP 3 were found to be in strong linkage disequilibrium and allele G was highly prevalent compared to allele A in these SNPs. in SNP 1, the GG genotype was associated with significantly (P<0.01) higher SCC, whereas SNP 2 and SNP 3 were significantly (P<0.01) associated with higher lactose percentage compared to the other geno-types. The haplogroups association analysis revealed that H1H2 (GG GG AG) has significantly lower SCC than H2H2 (GG GG GG). The results infer that JAK2 could be an important candidate gene and the studied SNPs might be useful genetic markers for production and mastitis related traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed at investigating the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter of CD4 gene with mastitis and production traits in dairy cattle. Blood and milk samples were collected from 201 lactating dairy cattle maintained at government dairy farms in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. SNPs were identification in the pool of 30 randomly selected DNA samples followed by genotyping of these SNPs in all samples and statistical analysis by the general linear model of SAS (9.4). Two SNPs (SNP1 104010804G>A and SNP2 104010868T>C) were found associated significantly with the annual milk yield and the frequency of mastitis (P<0.05). The AA genotype of SNP1 and the TT genotype of SNP2 were significantly associated with milk yield and frequency of mastitis compared to other genotypes (P<0.05). Thus, the genotypes significantly associated with mastitis and production traits could be used as significant molecular marker in dairy cattle breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]