Potentiality of open burnt clay as an adsorbent for the removal of Congo red from aqueous solution

Open burnt clay was studied as a potential adsorbent for the adsorption of Congo red [a reactive dye] from aqueous solution. The effect of contact time, pH, adsorbent dosage and temperature were studied. It was observed that the amount of Congo red retained increase with decreasing pH and increasing initial concentration. Removal percentage at pH 2 and 3 are almost same. The adsorption capacity of regenerated burnt clay was showed more than 98% recovery of the adsorption efficiency of initial virgin adsorbent. The equilibrium data were described well by both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption capacity of some natural adsorbents, namely rice husk, wood charcoal, tea waste etc. were also investigated and compared with that of open burnt clay

Diagnostic issues in abdominal tuberculosis

To analyze the modes of presentation and diagnostic issues in the management of abdominal tuberculosis at a tertiary care hospital in a developing country, where most of the established diagnostic modalities are available. The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Methods: This study is a retrospective review of medical records of all inpatients, diagnosed to have abdominal tuberculosis, from January 1991 to December 1997. The data was collected and particularly analyzed for spectrum of presentation and role of various diagnostic modalities. Of special interest was the sub-group of patients, who after all investigations did not have a firm diagnosis. Following a literature review recommendations have been developed for empiric antituberculous therapy in such patients. A total of 135 patients were diagnosed to have abdominal tuberculosis with a mean age of 34 years and a male to female ratio of 1:2. Ninety-six [71 percent] patients presented with chronic abdominal symptoms, while 39 [29 percent] presented as an acute surgical emergency mandating exploratory laparotomy, A tissue-based diagnosis was established in 95 [70.30 percent] patients, while radiological diagnosis was made in 30 [22.2 percent] patients. In 10 [7.4 percent] patients all investigations undertaken could not reveal a final diagnosis; these were treated empirically on the basis of a strong clinical suspicion. The diagnosis of abdominal tuberculosis can be made confidently in most of the cases. There may be a small group of patients where diagnosis cannot be made despite appropriate investigations and a therapeutic trial of ATT may be considered with close monitoring according to a pre-fixed protocol

Facial palsy; its surgical management

Facial distortion due to facial nerve paralysis is very distressing condition. Inability to close the eyes leads to lacrimation, keratitis and corneal ulceration, while the drooping of angle of the mouth gives bad cosmetic look besides. functional disability. We present a case of the mouth and inability to close his left eye for the last 7 years. One stage reconstruction was done with temporalies muscle graft to correct occular disability while excision of ellipse of nasolabial skin was made for drooping of the mouth. Patient improved and was sent home after 10 days with satisfactory recovery

Antibacterial activity of some medicinal plants and seeds

Antibacterial activity of some medicinal plants and seeds were tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. All water extracts of plants and seeds were found to be inactive except of Carum copticum [ajowain] which exhibited antibacterial activity against S. aureus. Homogenized seeds of Nigella sative [kalongi] and Carum compticum [ajowain] showed antibacterial activity against S. aureus. The results indicated that the active components of ajowain were partially soluable and that of kalongi were completely in soluble in water. Extraction of active components of both ajowain and kalongi was carried out using ethanol and acetone as solvents. Alcohol extracted oil of kalongi and acetone extracted oil of ajowain were active and prevented the growth of S. aureus

Otogenic brain abscess in Peshawar

Thirty patients with otogenic brain abscess were studied prospectively to document the presenting features, clinical and laboratory data, and the types of organism involved. Extra-dural abscess was present in 16 [53.3%], cerebellar abscess in 7 [23.3%], temporal lobe abscess in 5 [16.7%], and subdural abscess in 2 [6.6%], of the patients studied. The presenting features were similar, except for nystagmus which was present only in patients with cerebellar abscess. C.S.F. examination gave abnormal results in all 7 [23.3%] cases in which it was examined. Proteus vulgaris was the most common organism grown from the pus and this accounted for 43% of the cases. E. coli was grown from 14.2% of cultures. The mortality was 17% while 33% recovered

Lipid profiles of the patients with coronary heart disease and normal controls

A comparative study of the lipid profiles of 50 patients with coronary heart disease and 50 normal controls was undertaken. The coronary cases and normal subjects were age matched within a range of 10 years and the biochemical determination of parameters such as serum cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoproteins [HDL] and beta-lipoproteins were carried out. The results showed that serum cholesterol, triglyceride and beta-Lipoprotein levels were high in the coronary heart patients. The frequency of their occurrence was more in the age range 45 to 64 years. The HDL level was lower in coronary cases. The results also indicated that combination of two, three or four factors under study occurred more frequently in coronary cases than in the controls. From the coordination of the data it was concluded that all the factors under study contribute significantly to the development of coronary heart disease either independently or dependently

Intracellular proteases of mucor pusillus lindt

Mucor pusillus was grown in corn steep liquor medium and the distribution of protease activity between mycelia and fermentation medium was studied at different growth temperatures. Two-thirds to three quarters of the water- soluble protease was associated with the cells and the remainder secreted. The ratio of intracellular to extracellular protease activities decreased when incubation temperatures were increased. Extraction of protease from mycelia was carried out using buffers of different pH. The protease extracted with buffers of pH 9.0 and 10.0 was about 130% of that extracted with distilled water. Some characteristics of the crude preparations of intracellular and extracellullar proteases were determined. Comparison of growth profiles, pH profiles and temperature optima suggested that under the growth conditions chosen, both acid and alkaline proteases were produced in mycelia but only acid proteases were secreted