The vacuolating cytotoxin VacA and cytotoxin associated gene product CagA, encoded by vacA and cagA are major virulence determinants associated with pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori. The presence and prevalence of two major H. pylori virulence associated genes among gastric biopsies of Pakistani children were investigated in the current study. Fifty one gastric biopsy specimens of children were analysed for 16S rRNA, vacA and cagA genes using PCR. The results showed that 21 (41.2%) biopsies were positive for H. pylori as determined by 16S rRNA PCR. In the 21 H. pylori positive gastric biopsies, 19 (90.5%) showed vacA s1a, 1 (4.75%) was vacA s1b and 1 (4.75%) was vacA s2 whereas, 5 (23.8%) were vacA m1 and 16 (76.2%) were vacA m2. None of the H. pylori positive biopsies carried vacA s1c subtype. The cagA gene was found in 13 (61.9%) of H. pylori infected biopsies and different vacA combinations were found with or without cagA gene. H. pylori was detected with high frequency of cagA while vacA s1a and vacA m2 regions with vacA s1a/m2 genotype were predominant in H. pylori infected gastric biopsies of children.

INTRODUCTION: Although drug-eluting stents (DES) have outclassed the use of bare metal stents, the safety and efficacy of DES at long-term follow-up has still been conflicting because of increased occurrence of late or very late restenosis and stent thrombosis after DES implantation. Hence, the present study was aimed to evaluate the 3-year safety and clinical performance of biodegradable polymer-coated ultra-thin (60 µm) sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) in real-world patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a physician-initiated, retrospective, single-centre, observational study that included 237 consecutive patients who had previously undergone implantation of only Supraflex SES (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Pvt Ltd, Surat, India) for the treatment of CAD. Follow-up was received after 1 year and 3 years of stent implantation. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) and target lesion revascularisation (TLR). Stent thrombosis was considered as a safety endpoint. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 64.1 ± 10.2 years, and 192 (81.0%) patients were male. The average stent length and diameter were 24.4 ± 9.0 mm and 3.1 ± 0.4 mm, respectively. The cumulative MACE rate at 3 years follow-up was 6.5% which included 4 (1.8%) cardiac deaths, 6 (2.8%) MI, and 4 (1.8%) TLR. There were 2 (0.9%) cases of stent thrombosis. CONCLUSION Treatment of patients with CAD in real-world clinical practice was associated with sustained clinical safety and low rates of restenosis, stent thrombosis and MACE up to 3 years after Supraflex SES implantation.

Bird species, particularly poultry and other bird types, including domestic pigeons, are susceptible to fowl pox, a contagious viral disease. The main goal of this study was to validate clinical avipoxvirus diagnoses using molecular analytical methods. The essential components of the investigation were the clinical signs, visible abnormalities, histological changes, and polymerase chain reaction analysis. Twenty out of 120 pigeons had clinical symptoms, which included yellowish crust or nodules near the feet, eyes, and beak. An erosive epidermal lesion and an epidermal acanthotic papular lesion with basal vacuolation were maculopapular evidence associated with significant epidermal hyperkeratosis, as confirmed by histological analysis. In addition, the results showed keratinocyte necrosis beneath the hyperkeratotic epidermal layer, together with superficial and deep dermal perivascular lymphocytic infiltration. In addition, the P4b core protein gene underwent phylogenetic analysis. The sequence analysis results indicated a high degree of similarity across the local strains, with just minor variations observed. Five sample sequences were selected and submitted to the NCBI database. These sequences were identified as OR187728, OR187729, OR187730, OR187731, and OR187732. All the various strains in this research may be classified under clade A of the chicken pox virus phylogenetic classification. This study presents the first description and characterization of pox virus infections in domestic pigeons inside the Basrah governorate.