Pakistani TVCs: A Critical Study of their Impact on Young Consumers

Advertisers attach the product to the emotions, bounding, and happiness of a family or an individual. Consumer buying behavior very much depends on the advertisement. This study aims to examine how various companies are reflecting the bully behavior (consciously or unconsciously) in the content to promote their products which is not a healthy practice for the young consumers. Through the content analysis of the jingles and dialogues of TV commercials targeting children of age 4 to 11 years, in the local channels in Pakistan. Findings show that  showcasing bullying behavior and portraying negative messages are in the selected ads

DEVELOPMENT, FABRICATION, AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF INDIRECT MULTI-PORTIONED TYPE SOLAR DRYER FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to minimize post-harvest damages and improve the handling of agricultural commodities. The secondary objective was to assess the performance of the dryer by varying inlet velocity of air on temperature, final moisture of the product, drying period, and drying rate METHODS: The present research was carried out for the development, fabrication, and testing of a multi-portioned type solar dryer. The multi-portioned dryer consisted of a collector unit, air storage chamber, drying cabins, and a chimney. A fan assembly was also attached at the inlet of the collector and at the outlet of the drying compartment to control the air velocity and to remove the moist air. RESULTS: The data obtained from the experiments revealed that the maximum temperature elevation of 36.5oC was attained during a no-load test. The results obtained after carrying out load tests revealed that the maximum drying rate of 47 g/hr was achieved at the air inlet velocity of 3.2 m/s. The initial moisture content of 80.50% was brought down to 3.31% in five sunshine hours of 150 gram sliced potatoes. Each portion received air at varying speeds, and it was observed that the portion receiving air at the lowest speed had the maximum temperature. CONCLUSION: The lowest temperature elevation was recorded for the portion receiving air at the highest speed. The dryer was also found to be suitable for the on-field practical application for the drying of perishable commodities

Exploring pre-service teachers\u27 motivation for joining the teaching profession in Karachi, Pakistan

Teacher recruitment and retention remains an important concern, as not many people make teaching a profession of choice, which results in teacher shortage. The teacher shortage worldwide has given mount to conduct studies on pre-service teachers\u27 motivations for joining teaching career. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate pre-service teachers\u27 motivation for joining the teaching profession and their perception about teaching. Furthermore, it explored the association between the motivational factors and the perception constructs. It also compared the pre-service teachers\u27 motivation across the selected demographic variables (i.e. prior qualification and achievement grades in higher secondary). Using a cross-sectional survey, Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) scale was directly administered to 220 pre-service teachers enrolled in B.Ed. (lions) programme in Karachi, which were recruited from six teacher education institutes. Results revealed that the pre-service teachers highly considered teaching a sacred profession which would help them to promote peace and harmony through teaching (religious motives). Further, the desire to influence the next generation by providing service to society was also an important factor for the pre-service teachers in joining the teaching profession (social utility value). On the other hand, they reported to choose teaching as a last resort career (fallback career). The pre-service teachers perceived teaching as highly demanding (task demand) with moderate return in salary and status (task return) and they exhibited a relatively higher level satisfaction with their choice of profession. A positive relationship was found between the intrinsic career value (r=0.62, p\u3c0.001) and perceived ability (r=0.61, p\u3c0.001) to satisfaction with choice. Contrarily, a negative association p\u3c0.01) was observed between the intrinsic career value and social dissuasion. Comparison across prior academic qualification revealed that the arts group preservice teachers were more intrinsically motivated (intrinsic career value) than their science group counterparts (p\u3c0.01). Further, the low achieving pre-service teachers reported to have more positive outlook for the teaching profession by scoring significantly higher on religious motive (p\u3c0.05), intrinsic career value (p\u3c0.001), social utility value (p\u3c 0.001), ability (p\u3c0.001) and personal utility value (p\u3c0.01) as compared to the high achievers. Interestingly, fallback career (p\u3c0.05) was relatively rated high by the pre-service teachers falling in the category of high achievers as compared to mediocre and low achievers. The study provides insights to the teacher educators for counselling their students about their future aspiration and opportunities pertaining to the field of teaching. The tool adapted can be a valuable addition to the contextual literature which can be used for similar studies

Inter-Varietal Variation in Phenolic Profile, Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Activities of Two Brassica rapa Varieties: Influence on Pro-Inflammatory Mediators

The present research study aims to appraise the potential of polyphenol-rich extracts from two Brassica rapa varieties on antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities using carrageenan-induced paw edema model in rats. Methanol extracts of peels and pulps of Brassica rapa yellow root (BRYR) and Brassica rapa white root (BRWR) were prepared using the soxhlet extraction technique. All four extracts were analyzed by reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) for the polyphenols, and results showed that 10 phenolic acids and 4 flavonoids were detected. Gallic acid was the major phenolic acid (174.6–642.3 mg/100 g of dry plant material) while catechin was the major (34.45–358.5 mg/100 g of dry plant material) flavonoid detected in the extracts. The total phenolic contents (TPC) of BRYR peel, BRWR peel, BRYR pulp and BRWR pulp extracts were in the range of 1.21–5.01 mg/g of dry plant material, measured as GAE, whereas the total flavonoid contents (TFC) were found in the range of 0.90–3.95 mg/g of dry plant material, measured as QE. BRYR peel extract exhibited the best DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50, 3.85 µg/mL) and reducing potential as compared with other extracts. The in vivo anti-inflammatory potential was assessed by carrageenan-induced rat paw edema, and the analgesic potential was investigated by a hot plate test. Suppression of biochemical inflammatory biomarkers including C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor (RF) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration were also determined. Results showed that BRYR peel extracts reduced paw edema and suppressed the production of TNF-α, IL-6, CRP and RF most significantly, followed by BRWR peel, BRYR pulp and BRWR pulp extracts. In addition, histopathology observation also supports the anti-inflammatory effect of peel extracts as being greater than that of root pulp extracts. Moreover, it was observed that the analgesic effect of the root-peel extracts was also more pronounced as compared with root-pulp extracts. It can be concluded that BRYR peel extract has higher phenolic contents and showed higher suppression of TNF-α, IL-6, CRP and RF, with strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.This research was funded by Qatar University

Stylistic Analysis of the Short Story ‘The Last Word’ by Dr. A. R. Tabassum

In this article stylistic analysis of short story ‘The Last Word’ by Dr. A. R. Tabassum is performed.  The formative elements of the story, such as point of view, characters and allegorical element, are discussed in detail so as to give a better insight of the story. The story is analyzed stylistically in terms of figures of speech where grammatical, lexical and phonological schemes are considered, following the checklist of linguistic and stylistic categories proposed by Leech and Short. Features of repetition, parallelism, alliteration, consonance, assonance and rhyme are focused on. Finally, the findings and conclusion is given to sum up the discussion.Keywords: stylistics, analysis, short story, last word, allegory, Tabassu

Microwave assisted synthesis and characterization of magnesium substituted calcium phosphate bioceramics

Hydroxyapatite is used extensively in hard tissue repair due to its biocompatibility and similarity to biological apatite, the mineral component of bone. It differs subtly in composition from biological apatite which contains other ions such as magnesium, zinc, carbonate and silicon (believed to play biological roles). Traditional methods of hydroxyapatite synthesis are time consuming and require strict reaction parameter control. This paper outlines synthesis of magnesium substituted hydroxyapatite using simple microwave irradiation of precipitated suspensions. Microwave irradiation resulted in a drastic decrease in ageing times of amorphous apatitic phases. Time taken to synthesize hydroxyapatite (which remained stable upon heat treatment at 900°C for 1 h) reduced twelve folds (to 2 h) as compared to traditionally required times. The effects of increasing magnesium concentration in the precursors on particle size, surface area, phase-purity, agglomeration and thermal stability, were observed using scanning electron microscopy, BET surface area analysis, X-ray diffraction and photo acoustic Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Porous agglomerates were obtained after a brief heat-treatment (1 h) at 900°C

Working of Ideology in the TV Commercials of Cold Drinks in Pakistani Media

The article aims at the analysis of the TV commercials of three carbonated cold drinks from Pakistani media. The analysis will be carried out using the three dimensional framework presented by Fairclough.  Through the analysis, the ideological framing of the commercials will be brought to light. To achieve this purpose different techniques used by the ad- makers will be described, interpreted and explained in the light of critical discourse analysis.Keywords: Advertisements, Power, Ideology, CDA, Faircloug

Hepato-Protective Effects of Delta-Tocotrienol and Alpha-Tocopherol in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Regulation of Circulating MicroRNA Expression

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in the regulation of genes for normal metabolism in the liver. Dysregulation of miRNAs is involved in the development and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to explore changes in circulating miRNA expression in response to delta-tocotrienol (δT3) and alpha-tocopherol (αTF) supplementation and correlate them with relevant biochemical markers in patients with NAFLD. In total, 100 patients with NAFLD were randomized to either receive δT3 (n = 50) 300 mg or αTF (n = 50) 268 mg twice/day for 48 weeks. Plasma expression of miRNA-122, -21, -103a-2, -421, -375 and -34a were determined at baseline, 24 and 48 weeks of intervention using RT-qPCR. Both δT3 and αTF significantly downregulated expression of miRNA-122, -21, -103a-2, -421, -375 and -34a. Moreover, δT3 was more effective than αTF in reducing expression of miRNA-375 and -34a. A significant correlation was observed between miRNA expression and biochemical markers of hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance (IR), oxidative stress (OS), inflammation and apoptosis. δT3 and αTF exert hepato-protective effects by downregulating miRNAs involved in hepatic steatosis, IR, OS, inflammation and apoptosis in patients with NAFLD. Furthermore, δT3 has more pronounced effects than αTF in reducing miR-375 and miR-34a, which are linked to regulation of inflammation and apoptosis

Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) as diagnostic criteria for diabetes: the optimal cut-off points values for the Pakistani population; a study from second National Diabetes Survey of Pakistan (NDSP) 2016–2017

Aim Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) cut-off values as diagnostic tool in diabetes and prediabetes with its concordance to oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in Pakistani population.Methodology Data for this substudy was obtained from second National Diabetes Survey of Pakistan (NDSP) 2016–2017. With this survey, 10 834 individuals were recruited and after excluding known subjects with diabetes, 6836 participants fulfilled inclusion criteria for this study. Demographic, anthropometric and biochemical parameters were obtained. OGTT was used as standard diagnostic tool to screen population and HbA1c for optimal cut-off values. Participants were categorized into normal glucose tolerance (NGT), newly diagnosed diabetes (NDD) and prediabetes.Results Out of 6836 participants, 4690 (68.6%) had NGT, 1333 (19.5%) had prediabetes and 813 (11.9%) had NDD by OGTT criteria with median (IQR) age of 40 (31–50) years. Optimal HbA1c cut-off point for identification of diabetes and prediabetes was observed as 5.7% ((AUC (95% CI)=0.776 (0.757 to 0.795), p<0.0001)) and 5.1% ((AUC (95% CI)=0.607 (0.590 to 0.624), p<0.0001)), respectively. However, out of 68.6% NGT subjects identified through OGTT, 24.1% and 9.3% participants were found to have prediabetes and NDD, respectively by using HbA1c criteria. By using both OGTT and HbA1c criteria, only 7.9% and 7.3% were observed as prediabetes and diabetes, respectively.Conclusion Findings from second NDSP demonstrated disagreement between findings of OGTT and HbA1c as diagnostic tool for Pakistani population. As compared with international guidelines, HbA1c threshold for prediabetes and NDD were lower in this part of world. HbA1c as diagnostic tool might require ethnic or regional-based modification in cut-off points, validated by relevant community-based epidemiological surveys