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Objectives: To determine the predictive values of reticulocyte and platelet count for remission in cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia after induction therapy. Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the department of hematology, MTI Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar. All cases of ALL referred to the department for remission after taking induction therapy, irrespective of age and gender were included. Relevant information wascollected on a predesigned proforma prepared in accordance with the objectives of the study. Results: A total of 84 cases referred for remission were included, 56(66.7%) were males and 28 (33.3%) were females. 50(59.5%) cases were in the age range of 5-18 years. The mean with a standard deviation of the age of patients was 15+ 4 years. 75(89.3%) of the cases were classified into ALL-1) by FAB classification. 50(59.5%) of the referred cases had achieved morphological remission by bone marrow aspiration. There was a statistically significant rise in Platelet count of the remission vs non-remission cases (p-0.001). Again there was a statistically significant difference in the retic count of the cases with remission (p-0.05). We observed a statically significant downhill moderate correlation ofretic count with remission (in termsof blast count of BM aspiration) (p-0.04, r:-0.32). Platelet count also had an inverse significant correlation with remission ( p-0.01, r:-0.37). The diagnostic roles of the peripheral platelet count and retic yielded an area under curves of (0.768 and 0.648 respectively) to predict remission.We observed that the retic count and platelet count havebeen shown to have strong predictive valuesfor remission in ALL with interaction values of (R= 0.28**, ΔR²=0.02, p=0.08). Similarly, an increase in platelet also has a strong predictive value for remission in ALL cases with interaction values of (R= 0.41**, ΔR²=0.16, p=0.001) Conclusion: In ALL cases of post-induction therapy, The peripheral blood reading for an increase in Retic and platelet count predictsremission with 95% confidence. These values if strictly observed can reduce the frequency of invasive procedures like bone marrow aspiration. Keywords: ALL, Remission, Reticulocyte count, Platelet count.

Biofilm-associated infections account for a large proportion of chronic diseases and pose a major health challenge. Metal nanoparticles offer a new way to address this problem, by impairing microbial growth and biofilm formation and by causing degradation of existing biofilms. This review of metal nanoparticles with antimicrobial actions included an analysis of 20 years of journal papers and patent applications, highlighting the progress over that time. A network analysis of relevant publications showed a major focus on the eradication of single-species biofilms formed under laboratory conditions, while a bibliometric analysis showed growing interest in combining different types of metal nanoparticles with one another or with antibiotics. The analysis of patent applications showed considerable growth over time, but with relatively few patents progressing to be granted. Overall, this profile shows that intense interest in metal nanoparticles as anti-biofilm agents is progressing beyond the confines of simple laboratory biofilm models and coming closer to clinical application. Looking to the future, metal nanoparticles may provide a sustainable approach to combatting biofilms of drug-resistant bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the accuracy of HbA1c in diabetic patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Study Design: Cross-sectional/ observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi (FFH), from July 2019-July 2020. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out on 100 subjects divided in two groups i.e. Group A and Group B. Group A included diabetics with CLD (chronic hepatitis C) and Group B included diabetics without CLD. Each group consisted of 50 known type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) participants, who were randomly selected from liver and medical OPD of FFH, Rawalpindi. Blood samples of the participants were analyzed for HCV, HbA1c and liver enzymes. Chemical analysis was carried out at the department of Pathology FFH, Rawalpindi. For statistical analysis version 21 of SPSS was used. Results: Our study showed that HbA1c levels were low in group A (6.6±1.10% vs. 9.58±2.09% p < 0.05) when compared to group B. Group A showed significantly higher levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) than group B (74.65±21.84 U/L vs. 38.44±23.79 U/L p

This article presents an overview of Aga Khan University's (AKU) pioneering medical education initiatives over the past 40 years, exploring its impact on healthcare in the region and its commitment to advancing medical education and research in the developing world. Established in 1983 as the first private university in Pakistan, AKU has evolved into a global institution with a focus on improving healthcare standards and addressing healthcare needs in the developing world. The article also discusses the undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programs at AKU Medical College, Pakistan, highlighting their unique features and pioneering approaches to medical education. The institution's journey highlights its ability to adapt to the evolving healthcare landscape while maintaining a focus on quality and excellence, offering a model for other institutions striving to meet healthcare needs in low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the flexible Lomax distribution's order statistics with graphical and numerical findings. Along with the quantitative measurements, some plots are furnished, including those for the skewness and kurtosis measures. We will dwell on the numerous results that relate to statistics of moments of order. We consider the single and product moment of order statistics from the new distribution. Further, we establish some recurrence relation for single moments of order statistics. We have sought to apply the derived relations to empirically evaluate the moments of smallest (largest) order statistics to establish well-known moments and related measures. For order statistics of a flexible Lomax distribution, exact analytical expressions of entropy, residual entropy, and past latent entropy are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]