All Articles in january, 2021

Cystoisosporiasis (formerly isosporiasis) is caused by Cystoisospora belli (erstwhile named Isospora belli) is encountered globally, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. Cystoisosporiasis is a human intestinal disease whose etiology is the parasite Cystoisospora belli with infection frequent in immunocompromised subjects, principally HIV-infected and AIDS patients. This coccidium parasite infects the epithelial cells and lining of the villi of the small and large intestines. C. belli is the least frequent of the three intestinal coccidia, viz: Cryptosporidium, microsporidium and C. belli which perturb humans. The clinical presentation of cystoisosporiasis gives a semblance of inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as other gastrointestinal symptoms, nausea, vomiting and diarhoea found in COVID-19, AIDS and HIV-infected patients. Research has not presented comorbid features of COVID-19 and cystoisosporiasis. The oocytes of C. belli are visualizable microscopically on wet mounts via bright-field, differential interference contrast (DIC) and epifluorescence. Trimethoprin sulfamethoxazole constitute the normal treatment of choice. C. belli,HIV-infected/AIDS and COVID-19 patients have clinicopathological correlates necessary to elucidate comorbidities and mechanisms of the diseases.

Artocarpus (Moraceae) is a deciduous tree with appreciable importance as a source of edible fruit and is widely used in folk medicines. The extracts and metabolites of Artocarpus heterophyllus particularly those from leaves, bark, stem and fruit possess several useful bioactive compounds. This review indents to compile various studies on A. heterophyllus and critically evaluates its ethnomedical and ethnopharmacological properties. Several pharmacological studies from A. heterophyllus have conclusively established their mode of action in anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activities. Based on the available data, it is concluded that Artocarpus as a promising source of useful products and opens up new avenues for novel therapeutics.

NAFLD is characterized by accumulation of fat in the liver that can lead to health complications. Previous studies have found the obesity phenotype and its components to be risk factors for the development of NAFLD. This study aims to examine the relationship between the obesity phenotype and NAFLD among each racial-ethnic group. We analyzed data from the NHANES III survey (1988-1994). The obesity phenotype was defined based on BMI and metabolic syndrome. NAFLD was defined by abdominal ultrasounds among non-alcoholics with no infection or taking drugs affecting the liver. A higher prevalence of NAFLD was found among the metabolically unhealthy obese group (43.1%) and the metabolically unhealthy overweight (29.4%) than the metabolically unhealthy normal weight (11.8%). Mexicans-Americans had higher odds of NAFLD relative to whites (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.9, p = 0.04). The metabolically healthy obese phenotype was associated with NAFLD (p > 0.05) in the overall sample and in Whites. The metabolically healthy overweight was associated with NAFLD only among Mexican-American (p < 0.05). Metabolically unhealthy overweight or obese had higher odds of NAFLD relative to the metabolically healthy normal weight and this relation is consistent in all the racial/ethnic groups (p < 0.05). Metabolically healthy overweight and obese individuals had a high chance of NAFLD and it varied by race/ethnicity. Healthcare providers should pay more attention to care for those who are part of the metabolically healthy overweight or obese group especially among the Mexican-American population.

Understanding the obesity-related genes may provide future therapeutic strategies to modulate disease progression. UCP2 separates oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) from ATP production in the inner mitochondria. Figure 1 shows the differences among UCP1, 2, 3. The main role of UCP2 is controlling the metabolism of energy in the cells [1-3]. Besides that, the expression of UCP2 is associated with chronic inflammation due to reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this regard, in injured cells and tissues, ROS could be decreased by reducing the proton motor force by the anti-inflammatory effect of UCP2 [4].

The main purpose of the present study was to find out the differences on suicidal ideation, hostility, hopelessness and negative self-evaluation among heroin addicts with comorbid depression. After reviewing the literature, it was hypothesized that heroin addicts with high depression may have high scores on variable of suicidal ideation, hostility, hopelessness, and negative self-evaluation as compared to those with low depression. The sample was consisted of 60 males from Low-socioeconomic status (SES) (34 of them were screened as having high scores on the variable of depression and 26 were screened as low scorers). Siddiqui Shah Depression Scale (Siddiqui & Shah, 1997) and Urdu version of Suicide Probability Scale (Cull & Gill, 1982) was administered. To compare heroin addicts with high and low depression on various variables, t - test was applied. The research findings showed that heroin addicts with mean age of 30 years (range 20 to 40) having the mean duration of heroin dependence of 10 years with high depression were significantly high on the variable of suicidal ideation, hostility and hopelessness ((p < .05) as compared to those with low depression. And there was no significant difference on the variable of negative self-evaluation for both groups (p > .05). So it was concluded that services for patients with Heroin addiction should include periodic screening for suicidal behavior along with psychiatric treatment and psychosocial support.

We interviewed 207 pig raisers from seven different districts of Bangladesh to explore their practices related to their pig farming. We used structured questionnaires to interview the pig raisers and used descriptive statistics for analysis. Most of the pig raisers (54%) were illiterate. 50% (104) of them had a monthly income of less than 10000 BDT and 60% (124) were landless. Most of the pig raisers (92%, 191) were rearing local breed and 67% of them were practicing semi-scavenging system. As feed source 55% (114) pig owners used kitchen waste and 54% (111) used rice husk. The pig raisers mentioned different types of challenges such as social problem (16%), disease (50%), less profitable (20%) and unavailability of feed (19%). In our study, we found that 31% respondents visited veterinarians, 28% visited quack and 21% do not take any action when their pigs were sick. Only 16% pig raisers used vaccines against different infectious diseases and 36% used anthelmintics against parasitic diseases. Awareness buildup of the pig raisers may help them raising pigs in a better way which will improve the farming system and reduce the probability of disease transmission.

Science is not inherently dogmatic. On the contrary, in our opinion and according to Bachelard, it often breaks with certain dogmas [1]. That is why it must have the necessary flexibility to be able to analyze and incorporate exceptional situations. In this regard, the current Coronavirus pandemic is an exceptional situation causing several thousand deaths a day.