Patterns of Deranged Lipid Profiles in Patients of Chronic Hepatitis C Deranged lipid profile in hepatitis C patients

Liver plays an important role in lipid metabolism and any acute or chronic malfunction of the liver due to viral hepatitis or liver cirrhosis may induce lipid derangements Objective: To determine the patterns of deranged lipid profiles in patients of chronic hepatitis C Methods: It is a prospective, observational study, conducted at Medicine Department, Mayo Hospital Lahore for 6 months i.e.1stJanuary to 30th June 2018. After the ethical approval, 160 diagnosed cases of chronic hepatitis C of ages 18-70 years of either gender were selected by non-probability purposive sampling. Informed written consent was taken. Demographic information such as name, age and gender were recorded. Venous blood samples from patients after 10 to 14 hours of fasting were drawn for lipid profiles and sent to pathology laboratory. All results were expressed as mg/dl. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 22 Results: Out of 160 patients in this study, there were 94 males and 66 females. Total cholesterol was lower in 62.5% patients, normal in 33.75% patients and higher in 3.75% patients. Triglycerides levels were low in 66.25%, normal in 33.125%, and high in 0.625% patients. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were low in 82.5% patients, normal in 10% and raised in 7.5% patients. High density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were low in 95%, normal in 4.375% & high in 0.625% patients Conclusions: Low levels of serum lipids including total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL are seen in population suffering from chronic HCV infection.

Simulating Water and Nitrogen Requirements of Maize Zea Mays L. at Different Growth Stages

Water and nitrogen (N) are the most important limiting inputs of maize (Zea mays L.) production in semi-arid environment. Irrigation regimes, N application timing and rate significantly influence maize growth and yield. To study effects of the nutrients in semiarid environment, two experiments were conducted. The crop was sown on August 1, 2009 and August 2, 2010 at the Agronomic Farm of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. The Cropping System Model (CSM) CERES-Maize was used to predict crop growth and yield under semi-arid environment. In Experiment-I, effects of times of N application were studied with five N levels (100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 kg ha-1). In Experiment-II, effects of three irrigation regimes (normal, water deficit at vegetative and water deficit at reproductive stage) were studied with the five N levels. The times and rates of N significantly affected grain yield and the yield components. Effect of N was linear, quadratic and cubic. Results revealed that application of N at the rate of 250 kg ha-1 in three splits (at 2 leaves, 16 leaves and silking stages) produced the highest grain yield (8.38 t ha-1). At these levels maximum values of leaf area index (LAI), photosynthesis and all others yield components were achieved. In contrary, crop growth rate and biological yield increased up to 300 kg N ha-1. However, the biological yield at 300 kg N ha-1 was statistically similar with 250 kg N ha-1. The crop was more sensitive to water deficit at reproductive stage than at vegetative stage. Water deficit at vegetative stage reduced grain yield 14% while of grain yield was decreased 22% when crop faced water deficit at reproductive stage. The CSM-CERES-Maize application predicted crop growth and yield well. So, the model can be used as a research tool in semi-arid zone of Pakistan. The model predicted phenology of crop well with less MPD and RMSE. The model predicted grain yield very closely to that observed; RMSE ranged from 656 to 1586 kg ha-1 among all treatments. In nutrient stress treatments, time course simulations of the model for LAI were satisfactory in both experiments. Prediction of the model was excellent in treatments which had adequate nutrients supply. The value of d-statistics ranged from 0.56 to 0.99 for LAI. The model predicted TDM very close to the observed values having low RMSE with 0.97 to 0.99 d-statistics. The application of 250 kg N ha-1 in three splits i.e., 1/3rd N at V2, 1/3rd N at V16, and 1/3rd N at R1 stages with supplemental irrigation of 530 mm ha-1 is the best management practice for semi-arid environment.