Efficient drug delivery potential and antimicrobial activity of biocompatible hydrogels of dextrin/Na-alginate/PVA.

Ceftriaxone sodium belongs to the third-generation cephalosporin group and is used intramuscular and intravenous route as a broad-spectrum antibiotic. This research aims to prepare biocompatible hydrogels for targeted delivery of ceftriaxone sodium by parental route. Different proportions of polymers (natural and synthetic) in the presence of cross-linker were synthesized by solvent casting method.

Developing and piloting an online course on osteoporosis using a multidisciplinary multi-institute approach- a cross-sectional qualitative study.

Introduction: Postgraduate medical trainees (PGs) in developing nations face various educational hurdles due to limited access to quality resources and training facilities. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of e-learning, particularly Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), within postgraduate medical education. It involved the development of a customized online course focused on osteoporosis for PGs and an examination of their perspectives and preferences concerning online learning methods like Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) platforms.

Risk Assessment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Aflatoxin B Exposure in Edible Oils.

Contamination of edible oils with aflatoxins (AFs) is a universal issue due to the detrimental effects of aflatoxins on human health and the fact that edible oils are a major source of fungal growth, particularly storage fungi ( sp.). The objective of this study was to assess aflatoxin B (AFB) in edible oil used in fried food in order to determine the risk of cancer from AFB exposure through cooked food using the FAO/WHO's and EFSA's margin of exposure (MOE) quantitative liver cancer risk approaches.

Development of a virtual classroom for pre-analytical phase of laboratory medicine for undergraduate medical students using the Delphi technique.

Background: Amongst the pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phase of laboratory testing, pre-analytical phase is the most error-prone. Knowledge gaps in understanding of pre-analytical factors are identified in the clinical years amongst undergraduate students due to lack of formal teaching modules on the pre-analytical phase. This study was conducted to seek experts' consensus in Clinical Chemistry on learning objectives and contents using the Delphi technique with an aim to develop an asynchronous virtual classroom for teaching pre-analytical factors of laboratory testing.

Risk of Covid-19 infection during endoscopy: Efficacy of personal protective equipment (PPE) in protecting health professionals.

Objectives: To correlate compliance to personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols and risk of exposure to SARS-COV-2 infection in endoscopy staff.

Methods: We included 85 endoscopic procedures performed at Lahore General Hospital from May to July 2020. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) were implemented for patient selection, risk stratification and personal protective equipment (PPE) use for endoscopy staff.

Construction and recombinant expression of Pseudomonas aeruginosa truncated exotoxin A in Escherichia coli.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (PE) is a bacterial toxin composed of three domains namely: cell binding, translocation and enzymatic domain. The cytotoxic activity of PE is attributed to the enzymatic domain, which inhibits protein synthesis through ADP-ribosylation of EF-2. PE can be genetically modified to fight cancer.

Microbiological Load of Ethylene Oxide Sterilized Medical Devices and its Elimination by Cobalt 60 Source.

Objective: To determine the residing microbial flora of ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilized medical devices and optimization of safe dose of gamma radiation (Cobalt 60 source) for the complete elimination of microbial load.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan from September 2014 to June 2015.

Biased expression, under the control of single promoter, of human interferon α-2b and Escherichia coli methionine amino peptidase genes in E. coli, irrespective of their distance from the promoter.

Human interferon α-2b and Escherichia coli methionine amino peptidase genes were cloned independently as well as bicistronically in expression plasmid pET-21a (+). Production of human interferon α-2b was comparable to that of E. coli methionine amino peptidase when these genes were expressed independently in E.

Mass cultivation of various algal species and their evaluation as a potential candidate for lipid production.

Microalgae have been proposed as a promising source for biodiesel production. Focusing on algal strains for biodiesel production, efforts should be made to search new strains. Experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of growth parameters (nutrients, pH, light, aeration and temperature) and the oil percentage of eight algal strains (Chlorella sp.

Studies on the expression and processing of human proinsulin derivatives encoded by different DNA constructs.

A synthetic gene encoding human proinsulin, containing Escherichia coli preferred codons, with an additional N-terminal methionine, was used for the expression, of M-proinsulin and construction of nine derivatives. No improvement in expression was noted, relative to that of M-proinsulin, when the 5'- of the gene was appended to codons for seven amino acids of a well expressed E. coli protein (threonine dehydrogenase), or the constructs contained multiple copies of the proinsulin gene.

Characterization of a thermostable and alkaline xylanase from Bacillus sp. and its bleaching impact on wheat straw pulp.

Delignification efficacy of xylanases to facilitate the consequent chemical bleaching of Kraft pulps has been studied widely. In this work, an alkaline and thermally stable cellulase-less xylanase, derived from a xylanolytic Bacillus subtilis, has been purified by a combination of gel filtration and Q-Sepharose chromatography to its homogeneity. Molecular weight of the purified xylanase was 61 kDa by SDS-PAGE.