sindh lab flags

Sindh lab flags faulty syringes

Sindh Drug Testing Laboratory (SDTL) has declared two samples of auto disable syringes as substandard after they failed quality testing.

According to media reports the tested 5 ml and 3 ml auto disable syringes did not meet the required standards.  During testing the auto disable safety feature failed to work properly meaning the syringes did not lock after use as expected.

Because of this both samples were declared substandard under the Medical Devices Rules 2017.

SDTL Director General Adnan Rizvi said the syringes were manufactured by a pharmaceutical company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He added that both the auto disable and reuse prevention features failed during testing. The laboratory also found that the syringes automatic safety system was not effective.

The test reports have been sent to the Drug Inspector Karachi East and the Secretary of the Quality Control Board for further action.

Health experts warn that substandard auto disable syringes can increase the risk of unsafe injections and may put patients safety at risk.

Similar Posts

  • Why Cockroaches are hard to remove

    Finding cockroaches in the kitchen can be unpleasant. Because they multiply quickly a small problem can soon spread to other parts of the house.  Cockroaches can survive in difficult conditions which makes them hard to remove once they settle in. Cockroaches can survive for a long time without food or water and can live in dark damp places such as kitchens cupboards and under sinks.  Their body parts and droppings can also become part of household dust. This may trigger allergies and can make asthma symptoms worse especially in children and people who already have asthma. There are many sprays and pest control products available in stores. However some people also try simple home methods for a small infestation. Boric acid and sugar A mixture of sugar and boric acid is sometimes used to control cockroaches. Sugar attracts them while boric acid can help kill them.  If used it should be placed only in areas that children and pets cannot reach. Cinnamon Cinnamon is another common home remedy. Its strong smell may help keep cockroaches away from certain areas. However it should not be considered a complete solution for a serious infestation. Mint or lavender oil The smell of peppermint or lavender oil may also help discourage cockroaches. A properly diluted mixture can be sprayed around cupboards and other areas where cockroaches are often seen. For a bigger or repeated infestation home remedies alone may not be enough. Keeping the kitchen clean storing food properly fixing leaks reducing moisture and sealing cracks can help.  If the problem continues professional pest control may be the most effective option.

  • | | |

    European colonization brought smallpox to the Americas

    Historians have believed that the collapse of Indigenous populations across the Americas was triggered largely by smallpox. The historical manuscripts and missionary chronicles provided detailed eyewitness reports of these devastating outbreaks. Molecular proof links colonial-era American epidemics directly to Old World viral strains remained elusive. Now, a study published in the journal Science provides the definitive genetic confirmation researchers have sought for generations. It’s led by geneticists at Trinity College Dublin in collaboration with biological anthropologists at the Universidad de Chile. Researchers have successfully extracted and sequenced the oldest known smallpox viral genomes ever recovered in the Americas. The ancient viral DNA was retrieved from the naturally mummified remains of two individuals buried in northern Chile during the early Spanish colonial era. The viral samples were recovered from bone fragments belonging to an adult woman (aged 30 to 35) and a young man (aged 18 to 20) buried near Camarones Cove. A coastal site in northern Chile that once marked the southern reaches of the Inca Empire. The individuals had been naturally preserved by the hyper-arid climate. They’re wrapped in camelid wool blankets and interred in traditional cloth bundles. Scientists initially analyzed DNA from 13 individuals excavated at the site. They were searching for ancient bacterial infections such as tuberculosis. Instead, they discovered preserved traces of the variola virus. Guess what? It’s the deadly pathogen responsible for smallpox. Radiocarbon analysis alongside molecular clock estimates revealed that both individuals died between 1492 and 1631 CE. The violent era of Spanish conquest led by conquistadors like Francisco Pizarro. Because the two viral genomes recovered from the mummies were virtually identical, geneticists concluded that both individuals likely succumbed to the same localized outbreak or were infected by the same circulating viral strain.  Evolutionary Trajectory of a Global Killer When researchers mapped the newly recovered genetic sequences onto a global evolutionary tree of smallpox, the results were unequivocal. The Chilean viral strain positioned directly between medieval European strains. The strains included those previously recovered from Viking-era human remains and later 17th- to 19th-century strains circulating in Europe. This placement provides molecular evidence that the virus was introduced to Indigenous American communities from the Old World. The study yielded surprising insights into how pathogens evolve when introduced to vulnerable host populations. The variola virus originally evolved from a animal-host (zoonotic) pathogen. It was undergoing extensive genetic alteration up through the 16th century as it adapted to human hosts. Surprisingly, the virus’s rate of genetic change slowed dramatically during the peak colonial expansion of the 17th and 18th centuries. Researchers hypothesize that Indigenous populations lacked any pre-existing immunity. So, the virus had reached an evolutionary optimum. It could spread effortlessly without needing further genetic adaptation. The virus’s evolution accelerated once again in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It was after the introduction of Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccine in 1796. Therefore, the evolutionary pressure forced the pathogen to adapt once more. Why This Discovery Matters Today Smallpox stands as one of the deadliest infectious diseases in human history. It has claimed hundreds of millions of lives over millennia before its official eradication in 1980 through global vaccination efforts. In the Americas, the disease inflicted physical casualties. The virus also shattered social structures and morale. The rapid disfigurement and death led communities to feel overwhelmed by forces they could neither treat nor comprehend. This discovery demonstrates the immense power of ancient DNA research. Tracing how pathogen evolution interacts with human migration, population immunity, and public health interventions provides critical context for understanding modern infectious disease threats today.  

  • Poultry industry linked to foodborne infections

    A new study warns that modern large scale chicken farming may be helping dangerous food poisoning bacteria spread more easily creating new risks for human health. Researchers from the Oxford University found that the rapid growth of industrial poultry farming has created ideal conditions for Campylobacter, a bacteria that causes food poisoning to grow spread and develop new traits. Campylobacter is one of the world’s leading causes of diarrhea and food poisoning. In the UK it causes around three and a half times more stomach illness cases each year than all other monitored foodborne bacteria combined. The researchers said the global chicken population has increased about sevenfold since the 1960s reaching around 31 billion birds. This growth has made it easier for bacteria carried by wild birds to spread among farm chickens. The team studied nearly 2,800 bacterial genomes collected from chickens and wild birds in 30 countries including the UK and the US between 1979 and 2024. Genetic analysis showed that the bacteria had developed changes linked to modern farming conditions. These included genes that help it resist antibiotics and survive more easily in large poultry farms. Researchers warned that rising antibiotic resistance is making Campylobacter infections harder to treat. The study’s lead author Sam Sheppard said the findings provide new evidence that human activities and environmental changes can increase the spread of infectious diseases. He added that understanding how bacteria evolve will be important for reducing future risks of animal to human diseases and antibiotic resistant infections.

  • 106 Shark tattoos win woman guinness World record

    An American woman has earned a Guinness World Record after covering her body with 106 shark tattoos turning her lifelong passion for sharks into a record breaking achievement. Emily Morrison from the U.S. state of Maine, received the Guinness World Records title in May for having the most shark tattoos on a woman’s body. Emily is a shark biologist and also owns a company that offers shark fossil diving tours. Known as “Shark Lady Emily,” she said her love for sharks began when she was just eight years old. After watching the movie Jaws she became afraid of sharks.  Her father encouraged her to learn about real sharks by reading books from the library and her fear soon turned into fascination. Over the years Emily has had many close encounters with sharks.  She has fed tiger sharks and great hammerhead sharks in the Bahamas gone cage diving with great white sharks in Australia and swum with whale sharks off the coast of Mexico. Emily is also set to appear in a special program called “My Strange Shark Addiction” during Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week where she will share her unique journey and passion for sharks.

  • |

     Why collectors pay millions for fractured porcelain

    There is a low-frequency hum inside an antique shop, an acoustic hush from dust and centuries of quiet survival. It is often the wounded object that commands the most reverence amidst the polished mahogany and gleaming silver. A spiderweb hairline fractured across the belly of a Qing dynasty jar; a cobalt Blue Willow plate stitched together with iron staples; a tea bowl held in delicate cohesion by golden veins of lacquer. In a modern economy obsessed with pristine surfaces and factory precision, these fractured ceramics defy logic. They do retain value despite their damage. Often, they derive their singular majesty precisely because they broke. The art market regularly bears witness to this quiet paradox. At major auction houses in London and New York, porcelain pieces bearing dramatic structural fractures, historic restorations or visible fractures routinely sell for astronomical sums. When a cracked 18th-century Chinese brush washer or a chipped Song Dynasty bowl is launched, purists do not turn away. Instead, connoisseurs see a vessel that has successfully negotiated with time. A pristine artifact can feel like an untouched relic in a glass museum case. A cracked ceramic, however, carries the irreplaceable friction of human history. This romantic obsession with fracture finds its deepest philosophical roots in the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi: literally, golden joinery. In 15th-century Japan, legend holds that the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repair. It returned bound by heavy and unsightly metal staples. Japanese craftsmen was displeased and sought a more poetic solution. He bonded the porcelain shards with Japanese lacquer dusting it with powdered gold. Rather than disguising the trauma, Kintsugi illuminated the break. This technique transformed a domestic accident into a radiant architecture of resilience. When collectors haunt dim antique parlors today for cracked celadon or worn earthenware, they are participating in a quiet rebellion against the disposable. We live in an era of engineered obsolescence where a small fracture on a smartphone screen renders the entire device wasted. Antique ceramics represent the opposite: fired earth that withstands centuries, absorbing the touch of generations, bearing scars as badges of longevity. A crack proves that the vessel was used, held, washed, dropped, mourned and salvaged. It shifts the object from a passive decoration to an active survivor. Even the historical methods of repair have become prized antiques in their own right. Before gold lacquer was widely available, 18th and 19th-century itinerant tinkerers repaired heirloom china using metal staples. They were drilling tiny holes on either side of a split and hammering in delicate bronze or iron rivets. To a contemporary eye, these industrial-looking stitches might seem like visual vandalism. Yet, to collectors of stapled china, those iron rivets are exquisite evidence of human ingenuity and resourcefulness from an era when nothing precious was ever casually thrown away.   Ultimately, the enduring value of cracked porcelain in antique shops lies in what it reflects about our own human condition. Perfection is intimidating, fragile and ultimately unfeeling. Rupture, on the other hand, is universal. When a buyer pays for a cracked jar, they are purchasing a physical manifestation of survival. They acquire a tangible reminder that broken things can be mended, that wounds can be highlighted with beauty and that time does not diminish value, but rather confers it.

  • Faculty development: beyond classrooms 

    By Prof. Engr. Dr. Khuram Pervez Amber The persistent weaker linkage between industries and universities in Pakistan requires strategic interventions from all stakeholders. Pakistan cannot expect systemic industrial growth while its higher education institutions and industrial sectors operate in silos. Number of universities in Pakistan has dramatically increased over the past two decades. At current, there are nearly 280 universities in Pakistan which are producing thousands of graduates every year. But the concerns of industries remain valid that the graduates lack the necessary technical knowledge and skills which are required in the industries. These concerns of industries are particularly reported in disciplines such as engineering, computer science and the applied sciences, where employers frequently report a mismatch between academic preparation and industrial requirements. Although there are some valuable initiatives by the HEC, PEC, and NTC which include mandatory industrial internships of six to eight weeks for the engineering and technology students, the impact of such initiatives is limited due to multiple factors. Another initiative of HEC to strengthen university academia linkage is the establishment of the Office of Research, Innovation, and Commercialization (ORICs) in universities. However, the effectiveness of this initiative has not been successful at the desired level as in many universities, ORICs operate with limited staff and resources, while directors of ORICs are usually on additional charges. Expecting a small office alone to build industrial linkages for an entire university is unrealistic. Currently, out of nearly 260 universities, only 95 universities have established ORICs. In the recent ORIC ranking of HEC, only seven of 95 universities achieved the top category, i.e. “W” category. One of the major unexplored reasons behind this fragile linkage between industry and academia is the limited or no industrial exposure of university teachers. Most university teachers move directly from their bachelor’s degrees into master’s and PhD programs. Through this route, such individuals may become academically qualified teachers, but this route does not make them professionals having knowledge of industrial practices, industrial standards, and industry-oriented innovations. In many cases, a teacher teaches an industrial system which he/she has never experienced. This approach may clear theoretical concepts of students, but such students will certainly struggle when they would face real- life industrial problems after their induction in industry. So why do our university teachers require industrial exposure in their field of research? The answer is simple. A teacher with industrial exposure brings his industrial experience into the classrooms, laboratories, projects, and discussions on daily basis. Industrial experience of such teachers would not only improve the technical understanding of students about various industrial systems but also enhance students’ problem-solving skills. It would further help students to understand industrial expectations. So how could universities help their faculty members to get industrial experience? This could be achieved through implementation of structured industrial placement/professional development programs under ORICs for university teachers particularly working in engineering, technology and applied sciences faculties. Under this program, university teachers can spend six months to twelve months in an industry related to their field of interest/research on a turn-by-turn basis. During this period, such faculty members will keep receiving their monthly salaries as usual. So, what will be the major benefits of this model? There will be significant improvement in the pedagogical skills of faculty members as they will be teaching with practical examples, industrial case studies and real-world problem-solving approaches. During their placement in the industry, faculty members would make connections with the industrial experts/managers/engineers which would help them in future to supervise industry-relevant research, secure collaborative projects and contribute to technology transfer. They would identify operational challenges requiring research-based solutions. Upon returning to universities, they can transform these challenges into student projects, postgraduate research topics and consultancy opportunities. This would help create a healthier research culture focused on solving local industrial problems. University graduates will have problem solving skills that are required by industry. Over time, this model would help bridge the trust deficit that exists between academia and industry. Admittedly, implementing such a policy would not be easy. Challenges such as shortage of faculty, and increased teaching workloads are genuine challenges. There are also cultural barriers within academia, where industrial experience is often valued less than traditional academic achievements. However, these barriers are manageable. HEC and professional bodies such as PEC, and universities can jointly develop and implement structured industrial placement programs for faculty members. The industrial experience can be recognized within promotion criteria of faculty members, accreditation frameworks and quality assurance standards. In the nutshell, to produce industry ready graduates, the industrial exposure of university faculty members is indispensable. Their industrial experience will result in a stronger academia-industry linkage which is essential for economic growth, innovation and technological progress. Until universities and industries begin working together more meaningfully, Pakistan will continue producing degrees faster than opportunities. Prof. Engr. Dr. Khuram Pervez Amber (CEng, MEI, PE, FHEA) The writer is serving as Director QEC at Mirpur University of Science and Technology, AJ&K.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *