An Investigation of Efficacy and Hope as Predictors of Academic Motivation

oai:pje.aiou.edu.pk:article/1159The present study aimed at exploring the predictors of academicmotivation of adolescents by analyzing the academic efficacy andacademic hope. The sample was consisted of 1581 students from ninetowns of Lahore. Sampling was done through area probability samplingstrategy. The data was collected by using translated and adaptedAcademic Efficacy Scale (Arooj & Ijaz, 2017), Academic Hope Scale(Arooj & Ijaz, 2017), and Academic Motivation Scale (Arooj & Ijaz,2017). Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis showed theexistence of positive relationship between academic efficacy, academichope and intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivation. StepwiseRegression Analysis displayed two models. In these models, academicefficacy and academic hope predicted intrinsic academic motivation andcontributed variance of 24% and 13%, respectively. Furthermore, theStepwise Regression Analysis for extrinsic academic motivation showedtwo models in which academic efficacy and academic hope contributedvariance of 22% and 12% respectively

Molecular phylogeny and morphological characterization of Leucocoprinus birnbaumii from Punjab, Pakistan

Background: Leucocoprinus in Agaricaceae is a genus distributed worldwide and represented by nearly 50 species. From Pakistan, only four species in this genus have been known so far.Methods: The specimen was identified by morphological and anatomical characters combining with sequence analysis of nrDNA-ITS region.Results: Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, a bright yellow mushroom found on wood log from Sialkot district, Punjab, Pakistan. This species is identified by its medium sized bell-shaped pileus bearing the same colored squamule with sulcate striate margins, presence of metachromatic basidiospores and pseudoparaphyses around the basidia. Molecular data also supported its taxonomy as L. birnbaumii. The species is being described for the first time based on morphological and anatomical characters in combination with molecular phylogeny using ITS region of nrDNA.Conclusion: Leucocoprinus birnbaumii is widely distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America. It grows in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Its occurrence in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan with humid subtropical climate represents its wide ecological amplitude and geographic distribution.Keywords: Humid subtropical climate; ITS; nrDNA; Taxonomy   

Association of Hyperuricemia with Ischemic Stroke in Adult Population

Background and Objective: Stroke is the second most prevalent cause of dementia, the third biggest cause of mortality, and the top cause of disability globally. Hyperuricemia is frequently seen in patients with vascular risk factors. The objective of this study was to determine the association of hyperuricemia with ischemic stroke in adult patients presenting to neurology department of a tertiary care hospital. Methods:This was a case-control study of 200 patients, 100 patients with stroke and 100 unmatched controls were accessed for vascular risk factors and hyperuricemia. The setting was Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad and study duration was six months (August 2021 to February 2022). Odds Ratio (OR) was calculated to measure the association of ischemic stroke with hyperuricemia for each group. OR\u3e1 was taken as significant. Results:Out of 100 patients in the case group, 25 (25%) had hyperuricemia. Whereas, out of 100 patients in the control group, 07 (7%) had hyperuricemia. The P-value was 0.001. Odds ratio was 4.42. Out of 100 patients in the case group, the median patient age was 35 and the highest patient age was 75. The mean age, symptom duration, and uric acid level were 55.216.24 years, 20.588.97 hours, and 7.212.24 mg/dl, respectively. The control group had 100 patients with an average age of 35 and a maximum age of 75. The median age was 52.48 years old, and the median uric acid level was 2.48 mg/dl. Conclusion:Hyperuricemia is linked positively to occurrence of ischemic stroke as evidenced by the positive odds ratio. Further studies need to be done to investigate whether uric acid lowering therapy is useful in preventing stroke or reducing mortality

Exploring The Relationship Between Egris and The Need For Mechanical Ventilation In Guillain Barré Syndrome

Background and objective: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an immune system-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy that accounts for approximately 100,000 new patients per year globally. GBS has also been linked to respiratory failure in 20% to 40% of cases. The objective of this study was to find an association between Erasmus GBS respiratory insufficiency score (EGRIS) and the need for mechanical ventilation. Methods: We conducted our cross-sectional study at department of Neurology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences from November 2019 to February 2020. Sixty patients were selected for this study. Data including demographic profile, variant of GBS, and EGRIS was calculated from all the study participants. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: All 60 patients enrolled in the study underwent continuous monitoring during admission time. Out of 60 patients, three (5%) endured mechanical ventilation with a mean EGRIS of 4.5. Others who didn\u27t need mechanical ventilation had mean EGRIS of 1.5. The three patients requiring mechanical ventilation were one each from Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy, and Acute Motor and Sensory Axonal Neuropathy variants of GBS. p-value was non-significant for the presented data. Conclusion: EGRIS could not meet statistical significance in identifying the requirement of mechanical ventilation for GBS in this study. This may be due to low sample size

Stylistics Analysis of the Poem and#147;Hope is The Thing with Feathersand#148;

Uncovering the meanings from a literary text is a practice common among the researchers. The work aimed to analyze the poem from stylistics orientation. For this purpose, lsquoEmily Dickensonrsquosrsquo untitled poemrdquo hope is the thing with feathersrdquo has been chosen. The stylistics techniques and methods are being used for stylistics analysis. The analysis is done at graphological, grammatical, phonological and lexical levels. Hence, this query is supportive in a sense to know about the style, structure, theme, her personal views and attitude through the analysis of the poem