Association between sensitivity to house dust mite (HDM) allergens and allergic disorders is well known. Modern housing, genetic traits and environmental pollution are the major causes of increased prevalence of HDM allergy. The aim of this study was to estimate the epidemiological status of HDM allergy in Pothwar region. Samples of house dust were investigated to identify the prevalent HDM species in the house environment and their allergen levels. Molecular characterization of group 1 allergens and their polymorphism in prevalent HDM species was also undertaken. The present study found, that, an estimated 81.74% of patients were sensitized to HDM allergens (Der p1 and Der f1), 87% patients were poly-sensitized, wherein patients showing sensitization to pollen and food allergens were 53% and 38% respectively. Percentage of HDM sensitization was highly significant compared to the other two allergy groups (p=0.002357). A significant gender bias was observed, with percentage of male patients (56.11%) greater than female patients (43.89%). Results revealed D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus as the predominant acrofauna. Out of total examined mites, 60.89% were identified as D. farinae, followed by D. pteronyssinus (29%). Besides these two species of allergy causing family of Pyroglyphids, 11% mites were non-allergenic i.e. Cheyletidae and Oribatidae. Comparison of mite counts from randomly selected houses and patients’ houses showed analogous counts of D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus. 87.35% random houses and 87.11% patients’ houses showed positive mite infestation. Mean D. farinae counts/gram of dust, in random samples were 235.36±7.93 (mean ± SEM) compared to 274.74±10.78 from patients’ homes. Similarly, mean D. pteronyssinus counts from random houses compared to patients’ houses were 115.04±4.57 and 124.58±5.76 respectively. Seasonal variation in mite counts was significant, with highest mite counts observed during monsoon season when % RH and ambient air temperatures are most suitable for mite proliferation. Allergen levels in 81.2% dust samples tested for Der f 1 were above 0.5ng/ml Limit of detection (LOD), where 57.6% dust samples had more than10μg/g dust allergen load. Conversely 69.4% of samples above were above LOD for Der p 1 and 20% had Der p 1 allergen levels greater than10μg/g dust. Mean Der f 1 (12.03±0.86μg/g) burden was significantly higher (p<0.0001) than mean Der p1 (6.06±0.73 μg/g). A moderate correlation (R2=0.6) between mite counts and their allergen levels was observed. Both Der f 1 and Der p 1 allergen levels were significantly high (p<0.0001) during monsoon and autumn compared to the remaining seasons of the year. Study of group 1 allergen polymorphism revealed two novel introns at nucleotide position (nt pos) 87 and 291 in both species, and the absence of intron 3 in Der p 1. Thirteen silent and one novel non-synonymous mutation: Tryptophan (W197) to Arginine (R197) were detected in D. farinae. Two haplotypes of Der f 1 gene were identified, haplotype 1 (63%) was more frequent than haplotype 2 (18%). In Der p 1, a silent mutation at nt (aa) position 1011(149) and four non-synonymous mutations at positions 589(50), 935(124), 971(136) and 1268(215) were observed. These mutations were reported from many other geographic regions, suggesting that polymorphism in Der p 1 gene is panmictic. As an outcome of this research, a better awareness (with relevant data) about the epidemiological status of House Dust Mite (HDM) allergy in Pothwar region has been established. Presence of Pyroglyphid mite species (D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus only) and the absence of other species from the family Pyroglyphidae are reported for the first time. The extent of polymorphism in both genes was substantially lower than that reported previously (0.10-0.16% vs 0.31-0.49%), indicating the need for careful evaluation of potential polymerase errors in studies utilizing RT-PCR.
اثر صہبائی اثر صہبائی (۱۹۰۱۔۱۹۶۱ئ) کا اصل نام خواجہ عبد السمیع پال تھا۔ اثر ؔسیالکوٹ میں پیدا ہوئے۔ اثرؔ کے بزرگوں نے کشمیر سے ہجرت کی تھی اور سیالکوٹ میں آباد ہوئے تھے۔ آپ نے گورنمنٹ کالج لاہور سے ایم۔ اے فلسفہ اور ایل ایل بی کیا۔ ۱۹۳۱ء میں ان کی رفیقہ حیات ان سے جدا ہو گئیں تو افسردگی ‘ تاریکی اور مایوسی کے بادل ان کی زندگی پر چھا گئے۔ ۱۹۳۴ء میں آپ اس غم و اندوہ کی یورش سے گھبرا کر سری نگر کشمیر چلے گئے۔ کشمیر میں ان دنوں ادبی مجلسیں اور ادبی نشستیں ہو رہی تھیں جن میں ڈاکٹر عبد الحکیم‘ نواب جعفر خان اثر لکھنوی‘ ڈاکٹر تاثیر اور پنڈت برج موہن دتاتر یہ کیفی دہلوی جیسے شعراء و ادبا شرکت کرتے تھے۔ اثر ان ادبی محفلوں کے روح رواں ہوتے تھے۔ آپ نے کشمیر ہائی کورٹ میں قائد اعظم کے ساتھ جونیئر وکیل کی حیثیت سے بھی کام کیا۔ قائد اعظم نے مقدمہ جیتنے کے بعد صہبائی کی محنت کو سراہا۔ (۳۴۵) اثرؔ صہبائی کی پہلی تصنیف ’’جامِ صہبائی‘‘ ہے۔ قطعات و رباعیات پر مشتمل یہ شعری مجموعہ ۱۹۲۸ء میں دارالتالیف بیڈن روڈ لاہور سے طبع ہوا۔ ’’خمستان‘‘ اثر کا دوسرا مجموعہ کلام ہے جو غزلوں‘ نظموں‘ قطعات و رباعیات اور متفرق اشعار پر مشتمل ہے۔ اس کا پہلا ایڈیشن ۱۹۳۳ء میں آزاد بک ڈپو سیالکوٹ سے شائع ہوا۔ اثر ؔکا تیسرا شعری مجموعہ ’’جامِ طہور‘‘ ۱۹۳۷ء کو تاج کمپنی لمیٹڈ لاہور نے طبع کیا۔ اس مجموعے میں رباعیات اور قطعات ہیں۔ ’’راحت کدہ‘‘ اثر ؔکا چوتھا شعری مجموعہ ہے جو ۱۹۴۲ء میں تاج کمپنی لمیٹڈ لاہور کے زیر اہتمام طبع ہو کر شائع ہوا۔’’ راحت کدہ ‘‘حضرت اثر صہبائی کے اس کلام پر مشتمل ہے جو انہوں نے اپنی جواں مرگ رفیقہ حیات راحت کی موت سے متاثر ہو کر...
It is incontrovertibly true that Islam advocates peaceful coexistence with the adherents of other creeds. The holy Qur’an, the primary source of Islamic Shari‘ah, vividly recommends freedom of conscience and religion. Similarly, the prophet (SAW), being the perfect role model for the entire humanity, preached and practiced the lofty ideals propounded by the holy Qur’an and peacefully coexisted with the followers of Judaism and Christianity. Furthermore, the four rightly guided caliphs exhibited tolerant attitude towards their Jews and Christian subjects. In the presence of these models, nonetheless, many contemporary critics of Islam are disinclined to admit this explicit reality. Robert Spencer also sees eye to eye with them. Robert Spencer is an American author and he has published twelve books. He is a member of Melkite Greek Catholic Church. He looks on Islam as a highly intolerant religion. In this connection, he singles out Muhammad’s (SAW) treatment of various Jewish tribes. He maintains that all Jewish tribes viz. Banu Na╔hir, Banu Qaiʽn┴q┐ʽ and Banu Qurai╔ah “received the wrath of Muhammad”. This brief study aims to prove that the treatment meted out to the Jews was not founded on religious prejudice and malice; it was rather commensurate with their wicked demeanor.
Background: Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women. Ultrasound has a high sensitivity but low specificity in the classification of benign and malignant breast masses. Strain elastography has the potential of increasing the specificity of breast ultrasound in classifying malignant and benign breast masses and reducing the number of benign breast biopsies performed. The diagnostic value of breast elastography in African women is not known.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the additive diagnostic value of strain elastography to conventional ultrasound in the classification of malignant and benign breast masses in an African population.
Materials and Methods: This prospective study was carried out between August and December 2016 in the Radiology Department, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Conventional ultrasound and strain elastography were carried out in 74 breast masses. Histology was used as the refence standard. Mean elasticity scores were compared for malignant and benign masses using the two-sample t test. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for conventional ultrasound, elasticity score, length ratio and combined method were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was also performed.
Results: The mean elasticity score of malignant and benign masses was 4.29 (±0.750) and 2.05 (±0.916) respectively. The difference in the mean values was statistically significant (P<0.0001). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 97.1%, 71.8%, 75.6% and 96.6% respectively, for conventional ultrasound and 97.1%, 92.3%, 91.9% and 97.3% respectively, for combined method. Combining elasticity score with conventional ultrasound resulted in a significant increase in the specificity (P value = 0.0012) and PPV (P value = 0.0074) compared to conventional ultrasound alone. The sensitivity and specificity of length ratio was 94.3% and 92.3% respectively compared to 94.3% and 89.7% respectively for elasticity score.
Conclusion: Adding strain elastography to conventional ultrasound significantly improves the specificity and positive predictive value in classifying malignant and benign breast masses in the African population. There was no significant difference between elasticity score and the length ratio.