Publications by authors named "A Fazal"
Introduction: Patients receiving renal transplants have weakened immune systems and are more vulnerable to lung infections.
Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in detecting pneumocystis carinii in renal transplant patients presenting with pulmonary infection in a tertiary care transplant center, keeping bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) as the gold standard.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Radiology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant, Karachi, from February 14, 2023, to August 13, 2023.
The prevalence of chronic low back pain (CLBP) among the Pakistani population is reported to be as high as 78%, leading towards different physiological and psychosocial alterations, with the worst cases suffering from disabilities. This study protocol will be a randomised controlled trial designed to compare the effectiveness of biofeedback surface electromyography (sEMG) for CLBP in the Pakistani population. This will be a single-centre study to be conducted on patients with CLBP randomised into two groups, namely, Group A (intervention group) and Group B (control group) to receive biofeedback sEMG therapy as an intervention or no intervention, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study investigates how the AMF species Rhizophagus intraradices affects bacterial communities and metabolic functions in the rhizosphere of aluminum-sensitive soybeans grown in acidic soil, particularly when inoculated with other fungi.
- Results showed that while the AMF and other fungal inoculations did not significantly change soil nutrient levels or specific plant traits, they did alter the composition and function of local bacterial communities.
- Notably, co-inoculation led to an increase in beneficial bacteria associated with stress responses and improved plant resistance, as well as heightened antifungal activity within the soil environment.
The impacts of transgenic crops on soil microbiology and fertility are critical in determining their biosafety. While transgenic crops can alter soil microbes, their effects are often context-dependent; therefore, the ecological importance of these changes remains a topic of ongoing research. Using high-throughput sequencing, we investigated the effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize expressing the mcry1Ab and mcry2Ab genes (2A7) on soil nutrient dynamics, as well as the diversity and function of soil microbial communities, including bacteria and fungi, within different soil compartments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/purpose: Bifurcation lesions comprise 20 % of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and are associated with worse long-term outcomes. With an increasing percentage of patients presenting with complex anatomy, including bifurcation disease, there is a need for treatment strategies to optimize PCI outcomes.
Methods/materials: We retrospectively analyzed 48 patients undergoing OCT guided bifurcation PCI using the 'Bifurcation and Ostial OCT Mapping' (BOOM) technique.