The irrational use of antimicrobials has enormously contributed to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally and especially in the developing world. To assess the knowledge and perception regarding AMR and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in university students enrolled in pharmacy, veterinary, and biology programs by using an online self-administered questionnaire. The Chi-square and Fisher exact tests (where applicable) were performed to assess the association of the demographics with the students’ knowledge and perception regarding AMR and AMS. A total of 496 students completed the questionnaire, among which, 85.7% of the participants were familiar with the term AMR and 79.4% of the participants correctly identified a poorly designed dosing regimen as a contributing factor towards AMR. The majority of participants (57.9%) were familiar with the term AMS and 86.5% were aware of the aim of AMS. The participants showed good knowledge regarding AMR and AMS, but to further improve student knowledge and perception of AMS and AMR, it is suggested that dedicated modules on antibiotic use and AMS should be incorporated into the curricula of these undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Background and objectives: COVID-19 patients exhibit a broad range of manifestations, presenting with a flu-like respiratory tract infection that can advance to a systemic and severe disease characterized by pneumonia, pulmonary edema, severe damage to the airways, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, causing fatality in 70% of COVID-19 cases). A ‘cytokine storm’ profile is found in most severely influenced COVID-19 patients. The treatment protocol of the disease also includes tocilizumab, which is a humanized monoclonal antibody used to treat autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. This study was designed (1) to assess the role of tocilizumab in COVID-19 patients regarding therapeutic efficacy through evaluation of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) resolution and anticoagulant effect, analyzing clinical safety via monitoring of associated adverse effects profile; and (2) to compare the clinical safety and therapeutic efficacy of institutional treatment regimen (alone) versus tocilizumab added to an institutional treatment module in COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: In this study, the endpoints parametric assessment of severely diseased patients of COVID-19 was performed (total n = 172, control group (institutional protocol treatment provided), n = 101 and test group (tocilizumab provided), n = 71) at the Khyber Teaching Institution, MTI, Peshawar. The assessments were compared using non-parametric analyses at baseline and after a follow-up of 12–18 days until the patient discharged or expired. Results: Results of the study revealed an insignificant difference among the control vs. test group in resolving inflammatory parameters (C-reactive protein (CRP) 21.30 vs. 50.07; p = 0.470, ferritin 482.9 vs. 211.5; p = 0.612, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) 29.12 vs.18.8; p = 0.0863, and D-dimer 464 vs.164.4; p = 0.131). However, a statistically significant difference was found between the control group and test group regarding coagulation parameters (international normalized ratio (INR) 0.12 vs. −0.07; p ≤ 0.001; activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) 0.42 vs. −1.16; p ≤ 0.001; prothrombin time (PT) 0.31 vs. −0.96; p ≤ 0.001; platelet count −12.34 vs. −1.47; p = 0.012) and clinical survival rate (89.10 vs. 90.14; p < 0.001). Furthermore, there was significantly higher infection rates and raised alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) associated with the tocilizumab group as compared to those receiving institutional treatment (bacterial infections: 0.99% vs. 15.49%; p ≤ 0.01, ALT: 3.96% vs. 28.16%; p ≤ 0.01, ALP: 1.98% vs. 22.53%; p ≤ 0.01). Conclusions: From this study, it was concluded that tocilizumab can be a better drug of choice in terms of efficacy, particularly in resolving coagulopathy in severe COVID-19 patients.

Oxyhaemoglobins of six digenetic trematodes,—Srivastavaia indica, Gastrothylax crumenifer, Gigantocotyle explanatum, Fasciolopsis buski, Gastrodiscoides hominis, Isoparorchis hypselobagri, and of their 3 vertebrate hosts, Bubalus, bubalis, Sus scrofa, Wallago attu, were subjected to alkali denaturation at a pH of 12·4. All oxyhaemoglobins from trematodes and their hosts differ from each other in the rate and extent of alkali denaturation which may be explained due to variations in the amino acid sequences of a particular haem protein in addition to other factors.

Only in the second half of the twentieth century, Linguistics started adopting a functionalist paradigm. Halliday is a crucial figure of this time. By the 1970s, scholars felt the need to analyse language not just in terms of its structure, but also the underlying ideology that each utterance carries. Form here, the ‘critical’ perspective to language analysis got introduced. A critical study assumes that nothing said is neutral; it is always said from a particular point of view along with some aims. This claim is in line with Halliday’s argument that language is socially anchored. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) got formalized in 1991. Since language is an indispensable part of society and represents as well as constructs the society, it is only essential that language is critically studied. People using language should be well aware of the ways it can be (mis)used and its speakers be mentally influenced. With this aim of creating awareness, that is, demythlogising society, CDA seeks to read between the lines of a discourse and search for the representative attitudes and the underlying ideologies.

The haemoglobins of six different species of trematodes: Gastrothylax crumenifer, Srivastavaia indica, Gigantocotyle explanatum, Fasciolopsis buski, Gastrodiscoides hominis Isoparorchis hypselobagri and their three different hosts: Bubalus bubalis, Sus scrofa, and Wallago attu were spectrophotometrically investigated, and were found to contain porphyrin IX as the common prosthetic group. Oxyhaemoglobin, carbonmonoxy-haemoglobin and reduced haemoglobin of all 6 species of trematodes and their 3 hosts under study gave similar absorption maxima. Distinct differences were, however, observed in the nature of the spectral curves of cyanmethaemoglobin which exhibit 2 absorption maxima in the β and the α region in the case of al trematodes whereas in the case of similar host haemoglobin derivatives only one single broad peak in the 536–540 nm region was obtained. With respect to pyridine derivatives all the trematode haemoglobins show a sharp peak in the α region and a minor hump in the β region except Gastrothylax crumenifer. All three host pyridine haemoglobin derivatives show only a single broad peak at 570 nm.