Towards Alleviating Counterproductive Work Behaviour: A Soul Leadership View

 This article intends to examine the role of psychological empowerment and spiritual leadership towards alleviating counter productive work behaviours (CPWB). The modern organizations do not rely on sole leadership any more, but the spiritual leadership. The present study focuses on two constructs falling under the rubric of soul leadership, i.e., employee empowerment and spiritual leadership in order to alleviate counterproductive work behaviour. In line with the environment of call centres, these two constructs based on Conservation of Resources Theory are considered sufficient to address the issue in question. Data were collected from a convenient sample of call agents working in call centres located in twin cities of Pakistan i.e., Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A total of 350 respondents were sent questionnaire where usable questionnaires were 302. Structural equation modelling technique was used to test the hypotheses. Results revealed negative and significant relationship between spiritual leadership, psychological empowerment and CPWB. Finally the implications and suggestions for future research are provided

Burden of Skin Diseases at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: To estimate frequencies of skin diseases in a tertiary care hospital catering to patients from Rawalpindi and the suburbs. Methods: In this comparative cross sectional study a total of 41947 patients were evaluated and divided into four major groups, Allergic, Infectious, Inflammatory and Autoimmune and a fifth Miscellaneous group. From the medical records, history, physical examination and whenever necessary, laboratory investigations were analyzed. Results: The most common infectious skin disorder was Scabies accounting for 18.9% of the total skin diseases. Most common allergic disorder was Dermatitis that accounted for 13.9% of the cases. Acne being the most common inflammatory condition constituted 11.96% of the cases. The most commonly affected age group was between 21-30 years with 19.5% of the cases. A seasonal pattern was seen and the maximum number of patient visits were seen in June (4272 cases) followed by July (4196 cases) and August (4146 cases). Conclusion: The data suggests that the disease burden in Rawalpindi and the suburbs has been underestimated. These are more than benign diseases and special consideration needs to be given to extended public health initiatives to improve their control

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection and advanced maternal age: Success or treatment failure

Infertility rate documented in Pakistan is 21.9% with only 25% success rate even after procedures like intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This rate is further on the decline with enhancement of female age. We aimed to observe the effect of female age on oocyte parameters and reproductive outcome after ICSI. It was done by retrospective analysis of a quasi- experimental design carried out after approval from Ethical review board of Islamabad clinic serving infertile couples from July 2010 to August 2011. The response to ovarian stimulation in (282) females was assessed on the basis of groups, A, B, C and D with age ranges up to 25years; 25.1 to 30years; 30.1 to 35years and \u3e35years, respectively. The outcome was assessed as non-pregnant, preclinical abortion and clinical pregnancy groups on the basis of beta hCG and cardiac activity by trans-vaginal scan. We observed that maximum number of pregnancies 32 (38%) occurred in C group, and least 10 (10%) in group A. There was a statistical reduction in the number of mature and fertilized oocytes as the age advanced from group C to D (p\u3c0.05).This shows that reduction in maturity and fertilization of oocytes with advancement of age recommends early referral of couples to assisted reproductive clinics

How do private practitioners in Pakistan manage children suspected having tuberculosis? A cross sectional study

Background In Pakistan, private providers provide a large portion of health care, including for tuberculosis (TB). All TB patients are supposed to be reported to the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP), which provides drugs free of charge in addition to monitoring, supervision, and support. However, diagnosis of TB in children is difficult. We aimed to assess the private health care providers’ investigation practices and management of childhood TB. Methods We used a cross-sectional study, which was based on a national survey measuring under-reporting of children with TB in 12 selected districts in Pakistan from April–June, 2016. We explored the practices of the private health care providers, including the health care workers i.e. general practitioners, pediatricians, pulmonologists and chest specialists, who were involved in the diagnosis of TB in children under 15 years for investigating and managing children suspected having TB. Results Among 6519 presumptive child TB cases, a total of 5193(79.7%) children under 15 years were diagnosed as TB by private health care providers during second quarter, 2016. Only 187(2.9%) were notified to NTP. The majority of presumptive child TB cases reported cough, fever, and failure to thrive; few had TB contacts with pulmonary TB patients. Failure to thrive, loss of body weight and absence of BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) scar was more common in female children. Private providers relied on chest X-ray in 46.1%, while tuberculin skin test and Gene-Xpert MTB/RIF testing was little utilized. Bacteriological confirmation was present in 7.6%, and clinical assessment was the only basis for diagnosis in 39.3%. Of children with presumptive TB, only 955(14.6%) children were treated by private provider, while 3121(47.9%) cases were referred for diagnosis and 2443(37.5%) were referred after diagnosis for treatment; among all the referred, 3812(68.5%) were sent for investigations to District TB Centre (NTP). Conclusion This study showed that many private providers referred children suspected having TB to laboratories for further diagnosis, but the cases identified in these investigations were often not notified to the NTP. This problem could be resolved by strengthening the referral linkages between private health providers, NTP laboratories and treatment centres through capacity building and training of their staff.publishedVersio

Assessment of Children with Cerebral Palsy Using Common Brief Core Set of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY)

Objective: To assess children with cerebral palsy using the Common Brief Core Set of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY). Study Design: Cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Children Hospital & Institute of Child Health, Lahore Pakistan, from Nov 2020 to Jan 2021. Methodology: Fifty-nine children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 0-18 years were included. Common Brief Core Set of International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health in Children and Youth (ICF-CY) was administered to children with cerebral palsy to assess their functional status. Strengths and weaknesses in body structure, body function,activity and participation and environmental factors were evaluated using the Common Brief Core Set of ICF-CY. Results: The majority of study participants were 38(64.4%), were spastic quadriplegic. Periventricular leukomalacia was noted in 36(67.9%) cases on MRI brain. Moderate to severe impairment was noted in body functions like intellectual function 46(78%). In addition, 26(44.1%) children with cerebral palsy had mild to moderate impairment in walking, while 4(6.8 %) could walk without any impairment. Social attitudes, construct, and design of buildings were the major barriers affecting the functionality of children with cerebral palsy. Conclusion: It was found that the Common Brief Core Set of ICF-CY in children with different types of cerebral palsy is a useful tool for assessing their functional level. Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, Common Brief Core Set, Disability, Health in Children and Youth (ICF-CY), International Classification of Functioning.

Globalization: Information Technology and Economic Growth Nexus: Empirical Evidence from ARDL Model Approach to Co-integration and Causality Analysis

This study provides a realistic examination of link between economic growth, information technology and its elements with particular attention on the stock market advancement in Pakistan.  Our results recommend a positive connection between well-organized stock market and economic growth equally in long run and short run. In financial theory globalization information technology would affect the increase economic development. This study investigates the influence of globalization and economic advancement on income disparity in Pakistan. In this study, we used the annual time series data and also used autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) econometric technique. We collected this data 1973 to 2014 from state bank of Pakistan and international financial statistics. From this study, it is decided that, globalization information technology has substantial effect on income parity; the economic growth rate is also achieving the income equality. In the policy outlook trade openness, foreign payment, foreign direct investment, may contribute in reducing inequality, the key variables used in this study are like savings, inflation, and exchange rate, gross domestic product, investment. This implies that, if this country wants to increase the economic growth, then to formulate and strictly implement some particular policies that facilitate investment in ICT

Globalization: Information Technology and Economic Growth Nexus: Empirical Evidence from ARDL Model Approach to Co-integration and Causality Analysis

This study provides a realistic examination of link between economic growth, information technology and its elements with particular attention on the stock market advancement in Pakistan.  Our results recommend a positive connection between well-organized stock market and economic growth equally in long run and short run. In financial theory globalization information technology would affect the increase economic development. This study investigates the influence of globalization and economic advancement on income disparity in Pakistan. In this study, we used the annual time series data and also used autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) econometric technique. We collected this data 1973 to 2014 from state bank of Pakistan and international financial statistics. From this study, it is decided that, globalization information technology has substantial effect on income parity; the economic growth rate is also achieving the income equality. In the policy outlook trade openness, foreign payment, foreign direct investment, may contribute in reducing inequality, the key variables used in this study are like savings, inflation, and exchange rate, gross domestic product, investment. This implies that, if this country wants to increase the economic growth, then to formulate and strictly implement some particular policies that facilitate investment in ICT

Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Clavulanic Acid, a Novel β- Lactamase Isolated from Streptomyces clavuligerus and Its Variability

The clavulanic acid derived by fermentation of Streptomyces clavuligerus and possessed the capability to inactivate a broad range of β-lactamase enzymes. A complex physicochemical process involves the binding of clavulanic acid to β-lactamases in which clavulanic acid itself deplete irreversibly along with β-lactamase enzyme rendering amoxicillin spared which otherwise would hydrolyze by an enzyme. It is therefore termed as ‘suicide ‘inhibitor for β-lactamases. We discussed here pharmacokinetic parameters and identified factors responsible for the variability of absorption of clavulanic acid. The results based on individual plasma concentration-time curve of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid in an open, randomized, two-way crossover study involving 10 healthy male subjects administered with two amoxiclav formulations