Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the potential of Allium sativum under biotic and abiotic stress in the quest to obtain more efficient phytoconstituents with improved antioxidant properties. Method: We investigated the effect of stress induction through biotic (Fusarium solani) and abiotic (NaCl salt of two different concentrations i.e. 50 mM and 100 mM) means in Allium sativum (garlic) to uncover its phytochemical and antioxidant potential. After stress induction, the leaves were harvested at different day’s post-inoculation (dpi) and analyzed for phytoconstituents and antioxidant assays. Results: The data showed statistically significant differences among proteins, reducing sugars, total soluble sugars, proteases and amylase of the samples at different dpi under biotic and abiotic stress (P<0.05). Moreover, total flavonoid, phenolic constituents, DPPH, ascorbic acid, catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were significantly increased under stress (P<0.05). The phytochemical and antioxidant activities were altered that proved its effectiveness under induced conditions. Conclusion and Practical Implications: The results obtained indicated that the Allium sativum (garlic) grown under biotic and abiotic stress have certain phytoconstituents with improved antioxidant activity that may serve as a rich source for antioxidants and proteins that may be used as an alternate to synthetic formulations in food and pharmaceuticalsto improve health outcome. Keywords: Allium sativum, antioxidant, biotic, abiotic, phytoconstituents, stress

Objectives:This study was designed to find the reliability of serum NGAL as an early and better diagnostic biomarker than that of serum creatinine for acute kidney injury after percutaneous coronary intervention in Pakistani population.Materials and methods:One hundred and fifty-one patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention were included and demographic data were recorded. Blood was drawn by venipuncture in clot activator vacutainers and serum was separated and stored at 4°C. Sample was drawn before the percutaneous procedure and subsequently sampling was done serially for 5 days.Results:The mean±SD serum NGAL pre-PCI (39.92± 10.35 μg/L) and 4 h post-PCI (100.42±26.07 μg/L) showed highly significant difference (p<0.001). The mean±SD serum creatinine pre-PCI (70.1±11.8 μmol/L) and post-PCI (71.2±11.6 μmol/L) showed significant difference (p=0.005) on day 2 onwards but mean microalbumin showed insignificant results (p=0.533). The serum NGAL predicted CI-AKI with sensitivity of 95.8% and specificity of 97.6% for a cut off value of 118 μg/L.Conclusion:Our results suggest that NGAL is an excellent early diagnostic biomarker for acute kidney injury in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Diarrhea episode lasting for greater than 14 days is known as persistent diarrhea. Aim: To find the current extent of factors leading to persistent diarrhea. Methods: It was a cross sectional study. 100 children with persistent diarrhea were included. Then parents were asked for contributing factors which were malnutrition and lack of exclusive breast-feeding up to the first four months of life. Data was analyzed on SPSS 22. Results: The mean weight of infants was 10.01±2.41kg. The mean duration of diarrhea was 15.51±1.31days. Malnutrition was found in 79(79%) infants. Lack of exclusive breast-feeding up to 4months of life was observed in 63(63%) cases. Conclusion: The most common contributing factor of chronic diarrhea in infants is malnutrition and secondly lack of breast feeding. Keywords: Chronic diarrhea, infants, malnutrition, exclusive breast feeding.

Background: Myocardial infarction is the leading cause of death worldwide. Patients suffering from myocardial infarction with a ST-elevated segment termed as STEMI experience high risk of death and these patients report recurrent attacks even more as compared to other MI patients. Objective: The goal of this study was to check that either oncostatin M (OSM) can be used as a biomarker for the evaluation of myocardial infarction Study design: This control-experimental study was conducted in Biochemistry department of the Islam Medical College, Sialkot. Materials and methods: The study included 35 STEMI patients admitted in hospital, their oncostatin M level after 24 h of the onset of disease was calculated. The oncostatin M level after 6 months was later on analyzed. Electrocardiography was performed for all patients. The serum level was studied properly to look for level of biomarkers. The review board and ethical committee of the hospital approved the study. Results: OSM level was increased after 24h of the onset of the disease. There was reduction in the level of OSM when measured after 6 months but still the levels suggested that OSM was detectable in the serum and can be used as a biomarker for myocardial infarction. Conclusion: High levels of OSM in the serum after 24h can be attributed to its link with development of adverse LV remodeling among patients suffering from myocardial infarction. The OSM levels were decreased eventually but it was still high even after 6 months of the onset. Keywords: CAD, oncostatin M, myocardial infarction, STEMI