Clinical group supervision in yoga therapy: model effects, and lessons learned.

Clinical supervision is an integral component of therapist training and professional development because of its capacity for fostering knowledge, self-awareness, and clinical acumen. Individual supervision is part of many yoga therapy training programs and is referenced in the IAYT Standards as "mentoring." Group supervision is not typically used in the training of yoga therapists.

Spatially refined aerosol direct radiative forcing efficiencies.

Global aerosol direct radiative forcing (DRF) is an important metric for assessing potential climate impacts of future emissions changes. However, the radiative consequences of emissions perturbations are not readily quantified nor well understood at the level of detail necessary to assess realistic policy options. To address this challenge, here we show how adjoint model sensitivities can be used to provide highly spatially resolved estimates of the DRF from emissions of black carbon (BC), primary organic carbon (OC), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), and ammonia (NH(3)), using the example of emissions from each sector and country following multiple Representative Concentration Pathway (RCPs).

Identification of a novel FBN1 gene mutation in a large Pakistani family with Marfan syndrome.

Purpose: To describe a novel mutation in the fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene in a large Pakistani family with autosomal dominant Marfan syndrome (MFS).

Methods: Blood samples were collected of 11 family members affected with Marfan syndrome, and DNA was isolated by phenol-extraction. The coding exons of FBN1 were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing.

Role of Lysyl oxidase-like 1 gene polymorphisms in Pakistani patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma.

Purpose: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs1048661 (p.R141L) and rs3825942 (p.G153D) in the lysyl oxidase-like 1 (LOXL1) gene have been previously reported to be associated with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEXG) in various Asian and European populations, but these SNPs have not yet been studied in the Pakistani population.

Hypermetropia as a presentation of diffuse choroidal haemangioma in sturge-weber syndrome.

A 16 years old male patient of Sturge-Weber syndrome was referred to glaucoma clinic for the management of unilateral glaucoma. There was also an ipsilateral hypermetropic shift. On detailed investigations, a diffuse choroidal haemangioma was diagnosed which induced this hypermetropic shift.

Ocular digital massage for the management of post- trabeculectomy underfiltering blebs.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ocular digital massage (ODM) in the management of underfiltering blebs after trabeculectomy.

Study Design: Quasi experimental study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Glaucoma Clinic of Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, from January 2007 to November 2008.

Oral delivery of curcumin bound to chitosan nanoparticles cured Plasmodium yoelii infected mice.

Curcumin has been shown to have anti malarial activity, but poor bioavailability and chemical instability has hindered its development as a drug. We have bound curcumin to chitosan nanoparticles to improve its bioavailability and chemical stability. We found that curcumin bound to chitosan nanoparticles did not degrade that rapidly in comparison to free curcumin when such particles were incubated in mouse plasma in vitro at room temperature.

XRCC1 and XPD DNA repair gene polymorphisms: a potential risk factor for glaucoma in the Pakistani population.

Purpose: The present study was designed to determine the association of polymorphisms of the DNA repair genes X-ray cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) (c.1316G>A [rs25487]) and xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group D (XPD) (c.2298A>C [rs13181]) with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary closed-angle glaucoma (PCAG).

Diagnostic challenges and role of immunohistochemistry in metastatic liver disease.

Objective: To evaluate the role of Immunohistochemistry (IHC) in the diagnosis of metastatic liver disease, with a descriptive, cross-sectional study at the Department of Histopathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi.

Material And Methods: A total of 130 cases of metastatic liver disease were retrieved from the tumor registry data. Eosin-haematoxylin stained sections and Immunohistochemistry panels applied to ascertain the site of primary tumor were evaluated.

Determination of her-2/neu by chromogenic in situ hybridization on borderline (2+) immunohistochemistry cases in carcinoma breast.

Objective: To determine the HER-2/neu status by chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) on tissue specimens with a borderline (2+) immunohistochemistry (IHC) score in carcinoma breast by a descriptive, cross-sectional study in the Histopathology Department, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi from Jun 2008 to Dec 2009.

Methods: Tissue block specimens from 50 consecutive patients having HER-2/neu score of borderline (2+) on IHC assay were tested for HER-2/neu gene amplification by CISH. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for quantitative variables like age and HER-2/neu gene copy signal/clusters by using SPSS version 14.

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in dairy buffaloes in Lahore District, Pakistan.

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in dairy buffaloes ( Bubalus bubalis ) was assessed in the Lahore District of Punjab Province, Pakistan. The study revealed an overall prevalence of 54.7% for N.

Epidemiological and excision margin status of Basal cell carcinoma--three years Armed Forces Institute of Pathology experience in Pakistan.

Objective: The rationale of this study is to analyze the demographic distribution and clearance of excision margin in basal cell carcinoma among patients diagnosed at AFIP Rawalpindi.

Materials And Methods: Records of a total of 235 cases diagnosed from January 2005 to December 2007 were retrieved from our tumour registry. The following variables were recorded for each patient: age, gender, site of biopsy, type of biopsy (incisional vs excisional) and status of clearance of surgical margins.

The association of glutathione S-transferase GSTT1 and GSTM1 gene polymorphism with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma in a Pakistani population.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of glutathione S-transferase GSTT1 and GSTM1 genotypes with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG) in a group of Pakistani patients.

Methods: Multiplex polymerase chain reaction was used to study the GSTT1 and GSTM1 polymorphisms in 165 PEXG patients and 162 unaffected controls.

Results: In the current study we describe a significant gender-specific association of GSTT1 and GSTM1 null genotypes with PEXG.

Induction of oxidative stress as a possible mechanism of the antifungal action of three phenylpropanoids.

The increasing incidence of hospital-acquired infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens, host toxicity, the poor efficacy of drugs and high treatment costs has drawn attention to the potential of natural products as antifungals in mucocutaneous infections and combinational therapies. Moreover, cellular and subcellular targets for these compounds may provide better options for the development of novel antifungal therapies. Eugenol, methyl eugenol and estragole are phenylpropanoids found in essential oil.

Living related renal transplants with lifelong follow-up. A model for the developing world.

Aims: To describe the dynamic of a model of public government partnership for dialysis and transplantation in developing countries.

Materials: A model was established on the philosophy of public-government partnership to provide an integrated dialysis and transplant service "Free with dignity" with lifelong follow-up care and medications. The government provided 50% of funds and the public was motivated to donate the rest.

Ocimum sanctum essential oil and its active principles exert their antifungal activity by disrupting ergosterol biosynthesis and membrane integrity.

The increasing incidence of drug-resistant pathogens and host toxicity of existing antifungals attracts attention toward the efficacy of natural products as antifungals in mucocutaneous infections and combinational therapies. The composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil obtained from Ocimum sanctum (OSEO) was studied. On GC-MS analysis, OSEO showed a high content of methyl chavicol (44.

Fungicidal activity of thymol and carvacrol by disrupting ergosterol biosynthesis and membrane integrity against Candida.

Natural isopropyl cresols have been reported to have antifungal activity. This work is an attempt to examine thymol and carvacrol against 111 fluconazole-sensitive and -resistant Candida isolates. Insight into the mechanism of action was elucidated by flow cytometric analysis, confocal imaging and ergosterol biosynthesis studies.

Factors predicting the outcome of acute renal failure in pregnancy.

Objective: To determine the factors predicting renal outcome in patients developing acute renal failure in pregnancy.

Study Design: Descriptive cohort study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Study was conducted at Nephrology Unit of Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Karachi, from October 2006 to March 2007.

Range for normal body temperature in hemodialysis patients and its comparison with that of healthy individuals.

Background/aims: Patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis have an altered homeostasis leading to altered body temperatures. We aimed to determine the range for normal body temperature in hemodialysis patients and compared it to healthy individuals. Also, we determined how much axillary temperatures differed from oral temperatures in both groups and whether axillary temperature is affected by the presence of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in hemodialysis patients.

Association of eNOS and HSP70 gene polymorphisms with glaucoma in Pakistani cohorts.

Purpose: To investigate the involvement of stress-regulating genes, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary closed angle glaucoma (PCAG).

Methods: POAG and PCAG patients recruited from different areas of Pakistan were diagnosed on the basis of clinical history, raised intraocular pressure (IOP), cup-to-disc ratio (CDR) and visual field defects. Their blood was collected and genomic DNA was extracted from it, followed by PCR amplification and VNTR typing of the eNOS gene, while the HSP70 SNP was analyzed with PCR-RFLP.

Maternal, neonatal and child health in Pakistan: towards the MDGs by moving from desire to reality.

Of the 10 million annual deaths of children below five years of age, four million are neonates. Pakistan's neonatal mortality rate of 54/1000 live births, which accounts for 57% of the under-five mortality, the contraceptive prevalence rate stagnating at 30%, the meagre number of deliveries assisted by skilled birth attendants (39%) and the low coverage of cost-effective child survival interventions hamper the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5. The Government launched the national maternal, neonatal and child health programme in 2007 to promote access to evidence-based cost-effective interventions; strengthen district health system capacities; empower communities; expand the community midwives' cadre; and promote utilization of essential services.

Association of tumor necrosis factor alpha gene polymorphism G-308A with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma in the Pakistani population.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to determine the role of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) gene polymorphism G-308A and total serum immunoglobulin E (TsIgE) levels in the onset of pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEXG) in Pakistani patients.

Methods: The TNF-alpha polymorphism G-308A was analyzed in 122 patients with PEXG and 126 healthy unrelated controls by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). TsIgE levels were determined by solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).