Fennel seeds and flaxseed have been traditionally used against many medical ailments due to their medicinal characteristics. The aim of the study was to investigate the health properties of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) and anethole from flaxseed and fennel seeds in rats fed with high‐fat diet. Histopathological changes in the heart and liver were also examined. Sixty rats were divided into two main groups. Group I (10 rats) was used as a negative control group and fed on the basal diet only. Group II (50 rats) was fed a hypercholesterolemic diet but not given any drugs during the trial for 2 weeks. This group was further divided into five subgroups (10 rats each). One of them was fed on the basal diet and used as a positive control group. However, the other four subgroups were fed on basal diets and anethole (20 mg/kg/day, orally), SDG (20 mg/kg/day, orally), a mixture of anethole + SDG (10 + 10 mg/kg/day, orally), and atorvastatin (10 mg/kg/day, orally) for 6 weeks. Compared to control, treatment with a combination of anethole + SDG showed a significant (p ≤ .05) improvement in serum levels of triglyceride (TG) (137.88 ± 1.61 mg/dL), total cholesterol‐(TC) (180.12 ± 8.99 mg/dL), LDL‐C (46.40 ± 6.67 mg/dL), VLDL‐C (11.81 ± 1.07 mg/dL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (75.97 ± 6.92 U/L), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (34.83 ± 2.17 U/L), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (130.65 ± 1.05 U/L), and malondialdehyde (MDA) (30.12 ± 1.89 mmol/g), and improved activities of catalase (70.99 ± 3.29 U/g) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (35.13 ± 2.53 U/dL) enzymes while SDG and anethole group had relatively less impact. Atorvastatin also improved serum levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL‐C, and VLDL‐C significantly and rose serum high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) levels considerably meanwhile it had a minor but negative impact on AST, ALT, and ALP, and negligible impact on activities of MDA, CAT, and SOD enzymes compared to the positive control group. The study revealed that combining anethole and SDG may improve dyslipidemia, improve lipid profile, decrease risks of chronic heart diseases, increase HDL‐C, and enhance antioxidant enzymes' activities.

M aize (Zea mays L.) the highest yielding cereal crop worldwide, is of prime significance for countries in Pakistan, where the rapidly snowballing population has now outstripped the existing food deliveries. After rice and wheat, maize ranks as the 3 rd most significant cereal. Maize accounts for 4.8% of Abstract | Crops are prone to being attacked by various insect pests resulting in huge crop yield losses. Maize (Zea mays L.) the utmost yielding cereal crop worldwideis attacked by several insects, Chilopartellus(S) is the devastating one. The current study was conducted to probe the toxic effects of Chlorpyriphos 40 EC@500ml/ acre, Padan 3% G (Cartaphydorchloride) @ 9 kg/acre, Carbofuran 3% G@8kg/acre, Monomehypo 5% G@7kg/acreand Fipronil 0.3% G@8kg/acre against Chilopartellus(S.). Recommended dose rates of all the insecticides were applied. Results of mean percentcropinfestation showed that the highest infestation (40.51 %) was observed in the control plot while the lowermost (5.23 %) was recorded in Chlorpyriphos 40% EC treated plot, being the most effective among all. In the case of mean reduction data over control, the highest reduction in plant infestation (96.08%) and no of dead hearts (93.65%) was noticed inthecase of Chlorpyriphos 40% EC while the lowermost infestation reduction i.e. 55.12% was noted in case of Fipronil 0.3% G treated plots. Results of mean infestation values of C. partellus depicted that maximum mean infestation was 72.11% and 59.11%was noted in control during the peak population months, August and September. Results of population dynamics with abiotic conditions revealed that highest population i.e. 17.10% recorded at 42.1 ºC at 67.1 % relative humidity. Overall results concluded that the population of the C. partellus can be effectively controlled by the integration of Chlorpyriphos 40% EC into the Integrated Pest Management program.

Objective: To describe presentations, comorbidities, investigations, and surgical treatment of patients with mucormycosis amid the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted at the department of ENT, and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan from June 2020 to June 2021. All the patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included. Patients with COVID-19 were diagnosed based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). After diagnosing mucormycosis computed tomography (CT) scan and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed for subsequent surgical clearance. After taking informed consent demographic data were collected on a proforma and analyzed using SPPS version 25. Results: Out of 23 patients males were 14(60.9%), females were 9 (39.1%) with a male: female ratio of 1.5:1. Mean ± SD age was 51.26 ± 1.41 years. Nasal obstruction and headache were the most common (8, 34.8%) presentations. The commonest co-morbidities were hypertension with diabetes mellitus (8, 34.8%). Out of 23 patients, 16(69.6%) had COVID-19 PCR positive. The majority of patients (17, 73.9%) were not vaccinated against COVID-19. Most of the patients (9, 39.1%) had HbA1c levels of 7% to 8.9%. The commonest surgery was endoscopic debridement of paranasal sinuses (9, 39.1%), while the commonest CT scan finding was a heterogeneous lesion involving the nose, maxillary and ethmoid sinuses (12, 52.2%). Conclusion: Mucormycosis of paranasal sinuses with/or without intracranial extension is frequently seen in unvaccinated patients having uncontrolled diabetes and COVID-19 infection. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.8.6431 How to cite this:Fazal-I-Wahid, Saleem M, Habib-ur-Rehman, Israr ud Din. Otorhinolaryngological presentations of mucormycosis amid COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(8):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.8.6431 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Undernutrition, especially micronutrient deficiency is one of the major but least addressed Global health issues. Globally 22% of maternal deaths and 24% of perinatal deaths account for Iron deficiency Anemia. One-fifth of females in Pakistan are suffering from anemia. It accounts for 19.3% of births of newborns that are small for their gestational age and 25% of babies born with low birth weight in Pakistan. Reproductive age group females’ especially pregnant females of the underprivileged rural populations are more prone to develop iron deficiency due to increased physiological requirements or administration of substances acting as inhibitors. But increased usage of substances that act as adjutants can fulfill the physiological requirements of pregnancy. This review aims to explain the roles of different Nutraceuticals in the prevention of iron deficiency anemia, especially in reproductive age group pregnant females.

Introduction: The cleansing of intestinal contents, were considered the mostimportant factor in the prevention of complications by most of the surgeons. While morbidityand mortality have been a matter of main concern in colorectal surgery during the past severaldecades. Despite these drawbacks mechanical bowel preparation is till practiced by most ofthe colorectal surgeons worldwide in elective colorectal surgery. So the aims of this study wereto find out the frequencies of wound infections, hospital stay, anastomotic leak and wounddehiscence’s in patients of two cohorts underwent elective colorectal surgery. Study Design:Prospective randomized control trial (RCT) study after having informed consent of participationas per described policy. Setting: Surgical Unit – I of People’s University of Medical and HealthSciences Nawabshah. Period: January 2012 to March 2016. Methods: 112 patients of bothgenders from 20-65 years in age, who underwent for Elective open colorectal surgery. In MBP,Sulphate and electrolyte free 136gm of polyethylence glycol (PEG) / two sachets with three litersof water were begun over 12 to 16 hours, the day before surgery in cohorts A only. Results:Regarding outcomes, wound infections were 12.5% and 16% in group A & B respectively. Therewas no remarkable difference in post-operative length of hospital stay with mean stay of 8+2and 9+2 in group A & B respectively. While disruption of anastomosis were 5.3% and 9% ingroup A & B respectively, while the frequency of incisional hernia was same in both groups.Conclusion: There is no benefit of enduring MBP in Elective Colorectal Surgery and can safelybe performed without it.