Application of Behavioural Emotional Rating scale (BERS 2nd ed.) to Study Social and Emotional Behaviour of Students at Middle Level in District Mirpur Azad Jammu Kashmir

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an ‘Umbrella term’ which covers all the aspects of development of an individual and can increase positive attitude towards self and others, hence reduces negative thinking. Social Emotional Learning is necessary to provide awareness to develop five core competencies i. Self-Awareness, ii. Self-Management, iii. Relationship skills, iv. Social-Awareness, v. Responsible decision making in students, as it is prerequisite for learning process. It creates a stable person who knows, how to behave in certain circumstances. The objectives of the study were to analyze the self-management in students at Middle level, identify the factors associated with responsible decision making, to develop better relationship skills that associates confidence in children, to explore the social awareness rate, to examine the abilities of children self-awareness. This study was quantitative in nature as it was implementation of BERS Scale (2nd Ed.) which is accurate & valid scale to measure attitude & is based on 4-point Likert Scale. Data was collected through BERS Questionnaires which are authentic and comprises of 55 questions. Data was analyzed trough applying of statistical techniques. Results showed majority of the students said that they are stable which indicate that Education system in Mirpur (A.J.K) has been improved in the past few years due to teacher training programs and facilities provided to the students. The study recommended that Social Emotional learning is essential for students. It also suggested that students can be saved from getting into depression, anxiety, regression, aggression and other mental disorders trough proper parental care, eradication of poverty, teacher training, gifted & talented education (GATE) of teachers and turning of schools into homelike environment

Characterizing physical and social composition of cities to inform climate adaptation: case studies in Germany

Cities are key to climate change mitigation and adaptation in an increasingly urbanized world. As climate, socio-economic and physical compositions of cities are constantly changing, these need to be considered in their urban climate adaptation. To identify these changes, urban systems can be characterized by physical, functional and social indicators. Multi-dimensional approaches are needed to capture changes of city form and function, including patterns of mobility, land use, land cover, economic activities, and human behaviour. In this paper we examine how urban structure types provide one way to differentiate cities in general and to what extent socio-economic criteria have been considered regarding the characterisation of urban typologies. In addition, we analyse how urban structure types are used in local adaptation strategies and plans to derive recommendations and concrete targets for climate adaptation. To do this, we examine indicators, background data used, and cartographic information developed for and within such urban adaptation plans, focusing in particular on the German cities of Karlsruhe and Berlin. The comparative analysis provides new insights into how present adaptation plans consider physical and social structures including issues of human vulnerability within cities. Based on the analysis we make recommendations on how to improve the consideration of both physical and socio-economic aspects of a city to support pathways for adaptatio

Sexual and Reproductive Service Interventions for Menstrual Regulation, Safe Abortion, and Post-abortion Care and Their Effectiveness During Disaster Response: A Global Systematic Review

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services are crucial for women especially during disasters, to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity from miscarriages, unsafe abortions, and post-abortion complications. This study explored the SRH interventions provided during disaster response. A systematic review was conducted to identify what menstrual regulation (MR), safe abortion (SA), and post-abortion care (PAC) approaches/interventions exist to promote resilience in the health system in disaster settings; what intervention components were most effective; and challenges and opportunities to meeting SRH rights. Five electronic databases were searched, resulting in 4194 records. Following the screening process, seven publications were included. The intervention-related information in each publication was assessed based on availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality. Two SRH approaches/interventions were found. The effectiveness of intervention components could not be conducted due to the limited number of relevant studies. Challenges were found at facility and community levels, and opportunities included overcoming them, making MR, SA, and PAC integral to the mitigation phase, and policy change to overcome barriers related to unaffordability and inaccessibility. Recommendations are provided to encourage research and policy towards improving neglected SRH in disaster settings to realize Sustainable Development Goal 3 and the Global Strategy and Sendai Framework’s priority to promote disaster-resilient health systems

Acute pancreatitis: A narrative review

Acute pancreatitis is a common cause of acute abdominal pain and can range from mild oedema to severe necrosis of the pancreas. It has a significant impact on morbidity, mortality and financial burden. The global prevalence of pancreatitis is substantial, with the highest rates observed in central and eastern Europe. Diagnosing acute pancreatitis involves considering clinical symptoms, elevated serum amylase and/or lipase levels, and characteristic imaging findings. The causes of acute pancreatitis include obstructive disorders, such as gallstones and biliary sludge, alcohol consumption, smoking, drug-induced pancreatitis, metabolic disorders, trauma, medical procedures, infections, vascular diseases and autoimmune pancreatitis. Appropriate management of acute pancreatitis involves determining the severity of the condition, providing supportive care, addressing the underlying cause, and preventing complications. Advances in classifying the severity of acute pancreatitis and implementing goal-directed therapy have contributed to a decrease in mortality rates. Understanding its prevalence, aetiology and management principles is crucial for clinicians to appropriately diagnose and manage patients with acute pancreatitis

Fabrication of NIPMAM based polymer microgel network assisted rhodium nanoparticles for reductive degradation of toxic azo dyes

The aim of this study was to prepare poly-N-isopropylmethacrylamide-co-acrylic acid-acrylamide [p-(NIPMAM-co-AA-AAm)] via precipitation polymerization in an aqueous medium. Rhodium nanoparticles were formed in the microgel network by an in-situ reduction technique with the addition of sodium borohydride as a reducing agent. Pure p-(NIPMAM-co-AA-AAm) and hybrid microgels [Rh-(p-NIPMAM-co-AA-AAm)] microgels were examined by using UV–Visible, FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy), DLS (Dynamic Light Scattering) and XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) techniques. The catalytic activities of the hybrid microgel [Rh-(p-NIPMAM-co-AA-AAm)] for the degradation of azo dyes such as alizarin yellow (AY), congo red (CR), and methyl orange (MO) were compared and the mechanism of the catalytic action by this system was examined. Various parameters including the catalyst amount and dye concentration influenced the catalytic decomposition of azo dyes. In order to maximize the reaction conditions for the dye's quick and efficient decomposition, the reaction process was monitored by spectroscopic analysis. The rate constants for reductive degradation of azo dyes were measured under various conditions. When kapp values were compared for dyes, it was found that [Rh-(p-NIPMAM-co-AA-AAm)] hybrid microgels showed superior activity for the degradation of MO dyes compared to the reductive degradation of CR and AY

Aetiology, presentation and outcomes of patients presenting with acute pancreatitis in a tertiary care hospital

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a multi-causal disease with a high rate of hospitalisation. Only a few clinical studies have investigated the aetiological background, severity, and outcome of AP in Pakistan. Hence, this study was carried out to determine the aforementioned factors and correlate them with outcomes in a tertiary care setting. This was a cross-sectional, retrospective study conducted at the Department of Gastroenterology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. Data was analysed using statistical software SPSS version 25. Vomiting was the predominant presenting complaint and was seen in 139 (78.5%) patients. Gallstones were the predominant cause in 68 (37%) patients, followed by idiopathic pancreatitis in 22 (12%) patients. Thirteen (7.1%) patients passed away. Patients with systemic complications were likely to suffer from severe disease (p=0.02), whereas those with local complications were at an increased risk of mortality (p=0.04). ---Continu

Evaluation of Self-Esteem, Emotional Intelligence, and their Association with Demographic Factors among Healthcare Professionals in Karachi

Background: Healthcare professionals are exposed to difficult situations that lead to increased stress. Higher emotional intelligence can lead to better psychological adaptation and greater self-esteem while lower emotional intelligence may result in hopelessness and stressful behavior. Objective: To examine self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and their relationship with demographic factors among healthcare professionals in Karachi. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare professionals using a self-reported questionnaire. The data was collected through Google forms from April 2021 to April 2022. Spearman correlation and Mann-Whitney U test were applied for inferential statistics and the p-value was fixed at ≤0.05. Results: A total of 261 participants responded to the survey with complete responses. The mean age of the participants was 28 (IQR=26-30) years and most of them were females (69%). The median emotional intelligence score of participants was 5.56 (IQR=6.00-4.93) and the median self-esteem score of participants was 29 (IQR=30-27). A weak positive correlation was found between emotional intelligence and self-esteem scores (ρ=0.285, p<0.001). Linear regression analysis showed a significant positive association of education (p=0.024) and a significant negative association of profession (p=0.017) with self-esteem. Moreover, it also showed a significant positive association of age (p=0.045) with emotional intelligence. Conclusion: The study results showed a weak positive correlation between emotional intelligence and self-esteem. Furthermore, education and profession were found to be significantly associated with self-esteem whereas only age was found to be significantly associated with the emotional intelligence of the participants

Bioinformatics: A rational combine approach used for the identification and in-vitro activity evaluation of potent β-Glucuronidase inhibitors.

Identification of hotspot drug-receptor interactions through in-silico prediction methods (Pharmacophore mapping, virtual screening, 3DQSAR, etc), is considered as a key approach in drug designing and development process. In the current design study, advanced in-silico based computational techniques were used for the identification of lead-like molecules against the targeted receptor β-glucuronidase. The binding pattern of a potent inhibitor in the ligand-receptor X-ray co-crystallize complex was used to identify and extract the structure-base Pharmacophore features. Based on these observations; five structure-based pharmacophore models were derived to conduct the virtual screening of ICCBS in-house data-base. Top-ranked identified Hits (33 compounds) were selected to subject for in-vitro biological activity evaluation against β-glucuronidase enzyme; out of them, twenty compounds (61% of screened compounds) evaluated as actives, however eleven compounds were found to have significantly higher inhibitory activity, including compounds 1, 5-8, 10, 12-13, and 17-19 with IC50 values ranging from 1.2 μM to 34.9 μM. Out of the eleven potent inhibitors, seven compounds 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, and 19 were found new, and evaluated first time for the β-glucuronidase inhibitory activity. Compounds 1, 5 and 19 exhibited a highly potent inhibition in uM of β-glucuronidase enzyme with non-cytotoxic behavior against the mouse fibroblast (3T3) cell line. Our combined in-silico and in-vitro results revealed that the binding pattern analysis of the eleven potent inhibitors, showed almost similar non-covalent interactions, as observed in case of our validated pharmacophore model. The obtained results thus demonstrated that the virtual screening minimizes false positives, and provide a template for the identification and development of new and more potent β-glucuronidase inhibitors with non-toxic effects

Linkages between Typologies of Existing Urban Development Patterns and Human Vulnerability to Heat Stress in Lahore

The combined effects of global warming, urbanization, and demographic change influence climate risk for urban populations, particularly in metropolitan areas with developing economies. To inform climate change adaptation and spatial planning, it is important to study urban climatic hazards and populations at risk in relation to urban growth trends and development patterns. However, this relationship has not been adequately investigated in studies dedicated to climate vulnerability. This study identifies the typologies of development patterns within Lahore, Pakistan, investigates the heat vulnerability of residents at a neighborhood scale, and establishes a relationship between both of these factors. We identified urban clusters with diverse development patterns. Fourteen context- and site-specific indicators were selected to construct a human heat vulnerability index. Weighted sum, cluster analysis, and ANOVA test of variance were conducted to analyze the data. Our results demonstrate that development patterns significantly influence human vulnerability to heat stress, e.g., vulnerability is higher in older cities and undeveloped neighborhoods with less diverse land uses. These findings are essential for informing policy-makers, decision-makers and spatial planners about proactive adaptation planning in dynamic urban environments

G-C3N4/Ag@CoWO4: A novel sunlight active ternary nanocomposite for potential photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B dye

Present study reports the fabrication of novel sunlight active heterogeneous photocatalyst, i.e. Ag@g-C3N4/CoWO4 for potential degradation of rhodamine B dye. The ternary nanocomposite was fabricated using thermal condensation of melamine to prepare g-C3N4 followed by coupling with silver doped cobalt tungstate (Ag@CoWO4) using the hydrothermal method. The novel composite photocatalyst (Ag@g-C3N4/CoWO4) along with pristine photocatalysts (g-C3N4 and Ag@CoWO4) were well characterized in term of morphology (scanning electron microscopy), structure (Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy), crystallinity (X-ray diffraction), and composition (energy dispersive X-ray). The energy band gaps of catalysts were calculated using UV–visible spectroscopic analysis (Tauc plot). The characterization analysis supports the successful assembly of Ag@CoWO4 nanoparticles on the surface of g-C3N4 nanosheets with good crystallinity. The photocatalytic potential of novel catalysts was examined through the degradation of rhodamine B dye in water. The engineered heterojunction promotes photocatalytic activity and improves photo-generated charge separation. The results of the proposed research showed boosted sunlight active photocatalytic efficiency (97% in 120 min at pH 6) of novel composite against rhodamine B dye degradation. The kinetics of the reaction was determined using different models and RSM was used as a statistical tool for interaction and individual effects of influencing parameters. The numerical values of optimized parameters endorsed the results of RSM i.e. composite dose = 10mg/100 mL, H2O2 = 15 mM, and pH = 6.Dr. Muhammad Zahid (corresponding author) is thankful to TWAS (Grant No. 15-410 RG/MSN/AS_C–FR3240288961 under TWAS-COMSTECH joint Research Grant) for equipments and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan for facilities to conduct this research. The valuable support from Central Lab, LUMS Pakistan for characterization of samples is highly acknowledged