EXERCISE IN FORWARD HEAD POSTURE AND ROUNDED SHOULDER: STRETCHING OR STRENGTHENING?

Objective: To determine the effects of stretching and strengthening exercises on asymptomatic adults diagnosed with forwarding head posture and rounded shoulders.Material & Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted after the screening and confirmation of FHP and RS by measuring craniovetrebreal angle (CVA) and shoulder angle (SA) using Kinovea Software, 34 Patients were inducted into trial through consecutive sampling, with17 patients in each of 2 groups i.e. “A” and “B”. Subjects were distributed into two groups equally; Group A received a strengthening exercise approach and Group B received a stretching exercise approach. Data was analysed using SPSS version25.Results: There was a statistically significant difference (p-value < 0.001) in pre-and post-treatment CVA and SA within each treatment group. However, no significant difference (p-value > 0.05) was reported across each treatment while comparing pre-and post-treatment values for CVA and SA respectively.Conclusion: Stretching and strengthening exercises are equally effective in the management of FHP and RS posture in asymptomatic individuals. However, strengthening exercise showed superior improvement in CVA and SA comparatively

Effects of physical environment factors on worker's health in micro and small sized industries of Pakistan

Background: Physical and environmental factors can affect both job performance and job satisfaction of the workers. Despite of the progress and improvement made for occupational safety and health, work environment especially in low and middle income countries is still hazardous for the workers. A large number of work related injuries and occupational accidents happens around the world each year. This research project aims to map work environment conditions and impact of physical environmental factors on occupational health in Punjab – Pakistan. Methods: Total eight micro and small industries in Lahore and Gujaranwala were visited during winter and summer season separately. Physical factors of light, noise and temperature were recorded for six hours during winter. A quantitive questionnaire was filled from 138 workers and an inspection of workplace was made by using ILO ergonomics checklist. Modified Testo 177 and Lascar data loggers were used to measure air (ta), globe (tg), natural wet bulb (tnw) temperatures and relative humidity (RH) to calculate the WBGT index. Result: Mean age of workers was 28.6 ± 10.5 years working for 8.8 ± 1.5 hours a day at a metabolic rate of 165 W/m2 (ISO 7243 level of exertion) and had 0.5 – 1 hour rest. In cold season the average indoor WBGT was 16.0 ± 2.5 ºC and in hot season the average indoor WBGT was 29.9 ± 5.5 ºC and indoor air velocity was 0.7 ± 0.3 m/s. Noise was recorded for time weightage average (TWA) and recorded a range of 73.1 dB (A) to 91.7 dB (A). Minimum intensity of 41.5 lux for light was recorded in one industry. Conclusion: A noise level of less than 85 dB (A) and light of 400 lux to 800 lux will improve physical and psychosocial work environment. Heat stress monitoring policy can be implemented by using ISO 7243. ILO ergonomic checklist can prove an important tool to make assessment and recommendations for working environments in Pakistan. Key Words: WBGT, Physical and environmental factors, Occupational healt

Food preferences and eating behavior among children with autism spectrum disorder: A causal-comparative study in Lahore

This study aims to compare the eating behaviors, food preferences, and body mass index of children with and without Autism residing in Lahore, Pakistan. The study participants were aged 5-12 years, and were divided into two groups: 60 children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 120 typically developing (TD) school children. The sample was drawn from three Autism schools and three private schools through the purposive sampling technique. Data regarding the participants’ basic personal history, food preferences, and eating behavior were obtained from their parents using a self- administered structured questionnaire. BMI for age percentiles of the children was obtained from standard charts, based on their height and weight measurements. Among participants with Autism, 46.7% were obese, compared to 23.3% of the participants without Autism. Children with Autism exhibited a significantly greater degree of limited variety (U= 2797.000, p= 0.009) and food refusal (U= 1586.000, p= 0.000) as compared to children without Autism. Greater preference for food in the vegetable group was related to a higher BMI for the age percentile, for children with Autism (r = 0.327, p = 0.011). A p-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Children with Autism exhibited selective eating and food refusal to a greater degree than children without Autism

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived stress levels of employees working in private organizations during lockdown

Background: Worldwide, office employees have experienced two novel phenomena during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown: working from home and reductions in their salaries. These phenomena have majorly impacted the lives of individuals as well as their families. The present study aims to measure the perceived stress levels among employees during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Pakistan.Methodology: A cross-sectional approach was used to collect data from a sample of 385 employees working in three different IT-oriented private organizations. A semi-structured, Likert-scale questionnaire was used, containing the 10-item inventory from the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). A sociodemographic profile, working parameters, and frequency of PSS inventory were presented in the descriptive analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was made to compare the stress levels of the two groups resulting from their workloads and reductions in salary.Results: An elevated perceived stress level (50.9%) was observed among the employees, showing a significant relationship with salary reduction and home work engagement (p<0.005). A strong negative correlation was observed (-0.860) for the salary reduction with PSS.Conclusion: Working from home and reductions in salary caused increased perceived stress levels of the employees working in private organizations. Salary reductions proved to be a strong stressor, causing economic disruption and inability to cope with financial burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic

Deriving and Evaluating a Detailed Taxonomy of Game Bugs

Game development has become an extremely competitive multi-billion-dollar industry. Many games fail even after years of development efforts because of game-breaking bugs that disrupt the game-play and ruin the player experience. The goal of this work is to provide a bug taxonomy for games that will help game developers in developing bug-resistant games, game testers in designing and executing fault-finding test cases, and researchers in evaluating game testing approaches. For this purpose, we performed a Multivocal Literature Review (MLR) by analyzing 436 sources, out of which 189 (78 academic and 111 grey) sources reporting bugs encountered in the game development industry were selected for analysis. We validate the proposed taxonomy by conducting a survey involving different game industry practitioners. The MLR allowed us to finalize a detailed taxonomy of 63 game bug categories in end-user perspective including eight first-tier categories: Gaming Balance, Implementation Response, Network, Sound, Temporal, Unexpected Crash, Navigational, and Non-Temporal faults. We observed that manual approaches towards game testing are still widely used. Only one of the approaches targets sound bugs whereas game balancing and how to incorporate machine learning in game testing is trending in the recent literature. Most of the game testing techniques are specialized and dependent on specific platforms

Benefits of physical activity on reproductive health functions among polycystic ovarian syndrome women: a systematic review

BackgroundPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is among the predominant endocrine disorders of reproductive-aged women. The prevalence of PCOS has been estimated at approximately 6–26%, affecting 105 million people worldwide. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the evidence on the effects of physical activity on reproductive health functions among PCOS women.MethodsThe systematic review includes randomization-controlled trials (RCTs) on physical exercise and reproductive functions among women with PCOS. Studies in the English language published between January 2010 and December 2022 were identified via PubMed. A combination of medical subject headings in terms of physical activity, exercise, menstrual cycle, hyperandrogenism, reproductive hormone, hirsutism, and PCOS was used.ResultsOverall, seven RCTs were included in this systematic review. The studies investigated interventions of physical activity of any intensity and volume and measured reproductive functions and hormonal and menstrual improvement. The inclusion of physical activity alone or in combination with other therapeutic interventions improved reproductive outcomes.ConclusionThe reproductive functions of women with PCOS can be improved with physical activity. Furthermore, physical activity can also reduce infertility, as well as social and psychological stress among women

Evaluation of occupational exposure to heat stress and working practices in the small and mid-sized manufacturing industries of Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Climate change is evident around the globe causing heat stress as an emerging public health problem for people working in tropical and subtropical areas. Occupational heat stress can impact the health and productivity of small and mid-sized enterprise workers.Objective: This study aimed to profile the indoor thermal environmental conditions and modify the working practices by recommending the work/rest cycle according to the international organization for standardization 7243.Study Design: This cross-sectional study design included eight industrial (Iron spare parts manufacturing) small and mid-size enterprises in Lahore, Pakistan. The indoor thermal environment, including globe temperature, natural wet bulb temperature, ambient temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity, were recorded during summer to measure the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). Quest heat stress meter (model 2500), modified Testo loggers (177-T4), and EL-USB-2-LCD data loggers were placed at different working stations to measure these thermal environmental parameters. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure the workers’ demographic characteristics and working practices. The International Organization for Standardization 7243 reference was used to estimate and recommend the work/rest cycle.Results: 138 workers aged 28.59 ± 10.46 years participated in this study. Continuous work of 8.8 ± 1.5 hours per day with a conventional resting period of 30-60 minutes was recorded on a typical working day. The indoor wet bulb globe temperature ranged from 26.8°C to 36.4°C. The workers were registered for low (72.5%), moderate (18.1%), and high (9.4%) metabolic rates according to the International Organization for Standardization 7243 reference values.Conclusion: A high wet bulb globe temperature was recorded in the selected small and mid-sized enterprises making these workers vulnerable to heat stress and related illnesses. Work/rest cycle evaluation suggested that the workers were required to improve their cool-down time by avoiding continuous exposure to high temperatures and reducing the metabolic rate

A crisis within a crisis: Role of COVID-19 pandemic in poor compliance of Community-based Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition among children younger than five years in Pakistan

IntroductionIn order to attain Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG-II) of eradicating malnutrition among children by 2030, Pakistan has initiated a Community-based Management of Severely Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) program. This program has been established at the public level to detect and treat uncomplicated Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) children at an early stage. However, during the outbreak of COVID-19, very poor compliance with the CMAM program was observed. Consequently, the nutritional quality of children’s diets has deteriorated, with malnutrition rates expected to rise. Therefore, this study has been set up to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the health of SAM children and compliance with the CMAM program.MethodologyThis study used a multicenter cross-sectional design in District Dera Ghazi Khan’s rural areas located in the Southern Province of Punjab. Data were collected from the parents/guardians of SAM children through the researcher-administrated questionnaire. The sample size was 196, and data were analyzed through SPSS version 25.ResultsThe majority of the children enrolled were males (52.5%), had fathers aged between 41 and 50 years (52.0%), mothers aged between 21 and 30 years (52.5%), had illiterate fathers (40.1%), illiterate mothers (73.8%) and had a monthly household income of PKR <15,000 (91.1%). All of the respondents mentioned that COVID-19 affected them in one way or the other (100.0%), with a majority of them did not visit the hospital during COVID-19 for their SAM child (52.5%) as they were afraid of COVID-19 (63.2%) and/or they lacked access to transport for visiting a hospital (93.4%). Bivariate analysis revealed that the father’s age (P = 0.02) and income (P = 0.00) is associated with the perceived effect of COVID-19 on income. In contrast, only the gender of the child (P = 0.00) is related to the visit to the hospital, and the gender of the child (P = 0.01) and mother’s literacy (P = 0.00) is associated with the choice of treatment from any other setup, including Hakeem and Peer.ConclusionThis study concludes that health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic pose a significant barrier to access to healthcare services and subject a more vulnerable state to already vulnerable groups like SAM children. To lessen their vulnerability, initiatives like mobile health care services should be introduced, especially for socially disadvantaged communities, localities, and groups on regular basis and for future emergencies

Application of the Boruta algorithm to assess the multidimensional determinants of malnutrition among children under five years living in southern Punjab, Pakistan

BackgroundMalnutrition causes nutrient deficiencies that have both physical and clinical consequences in severe acute malnutrition children. Globally, there were 47 million wasted children under the age of five in 2019. One in four were located in sub-Saharan Africa, with half being in South Asia. This study aims to apply the Boruta algorithm to identify the determinants of undernutrition among children under five living in Dera Ghazi Khan, one of the marginalized districts of densely populated Punjab Province in Pakistan.MethodsA multicenter cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from 185 children with severe acute malnutrition aged under five years visiting the OTPs centers located in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. A purposive sampling technique was used to collect data using a pretested structured questionnaire from parents/caregivers regarding family sociodemographic characteristics, child nutrition, and biological and healthcare characteristics. Anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, and mid-upper arm circumference, were collected. The Boruta models were used to incorporate the children’s anthropometric, nutritional, and household factors to determine the important predictive variables for undernutrition using the Boruta package in R studio.ResultsThis study included 185 children, with a mean age of 15.36 ± 10.23 months and an MUAC of 10.19 ± 0.96 cm. The Boruta analysis identifies age, mid-upper arm circumference, weaning practices, and immunization status as important predictors of undernutrition. Income per month, exclusive breastfeeding, and immunization status were found to be key factors of undernutrition in children under the age of five.ConclusionThis study highlights age, mid-upper arm circumference, weaning practices, and immunization status as key determinants of weight-for-height and weight-for-age in children under five years. It also suggests that economic context may influence undernutrition. The findings can guide targeted strategies for combating undernutrition