Enhancing Persistence on Mastery Tasks Among Young Preschool Children by Implementing the “I Can” Mastery Motivation Classroom Program

Task persistence plays important role in school readiness and helps to enhance young children’s cognitive development and academic skills; thus, designing and implementing programs to enhance it is vital. The objective of the present research was to assess the effectiveness of the “I Can” mastery motivation classroom program in enhancing young children’s persistence on mastery tasks. Altogether, forty-four (n = 44) children between the ages of two to three years selected from three kindergartens in Malaysia participated in the research, which was conducted by using a randomized pretest and posttest experimental-control group design. Persistence on three mastery tasks and mastery pleasure were assessed by using the Individualized Assessment of Mastery Motivation manual. The experimental group (n = 25) was exposed to the “I Can” mastery motivation classroom program, while the control group (n = 19) attended regular classroom lessons. There was a significant gain score difference between the experimental and control groups on task persistence for puzzles but not for shape sorters, cause and effect toys, and mastery pleasure. Thus, the program was effective in enhancing persistence on some mastery tasks. The content and findings of the intervention should help policy makers understand this important aspect of early childhood education

Comparison Of Fe(II) And Fe(III)-Hydralazine Complexes, A Potentiometric And Spectrophotometric Studa

Iron in oxidation states (+2 and +3) is very essential element for human body, and its concentration significantly altered in cardio vascular disease. So the aim of the present work is to study the interaction of Fe(II) and Fe(III) with very commonly used antihypertensive drug hydralazine through potentiometric and spectrophotometric methods. The objectives of the work is to study the stoichiometry, behavior of the complexes in aqueous solution, effect of pH and behavior of this drugs towards both oxidation states of Iron. Both methods show that hydralazine forms a stable complex with both oxidation states of the metal, but the nature of complex changes with change in pH, ligand concentration and with time span. Both methods confirms 1:2 stoichiometry for Fe(II)-Hydralazine while 1:3 for Fe(III)-Hydralazine. Stabilities of both complexes were also calculated. For Fe(II)-Hydralazine complex values of log β1 and log β2 were found to be 4.99 and  7.58 respectively. For Fe(III)-Hydralazine complex log β1, log β2 and log β3 values were found to be 2.74, 7.39 and 11.32 respectively. At high ligand concentration hydralazine also show reducing properties. The study suggests a strong interaction of hydralazine with iron; however the nature of interaction is different with both oxidation states of iron

Does gadget usage hamper the psychological aspects of pre-schoolers?

The society is keen to rely on gadgets in everyday life due to versatile gadgets that help them to connect with the world in the 21st century. On the flip side of using gadgets, several researches argued that screen time is affecting children's psychosocial, behavioural and health problems. The present study interviewed 14 preschool teachers to perceive their knowledge in gadget usage, sedentary behaviour and social skills among preschoolers. Besides that, teaching methods and teachers' opinions on gadget usage were also discussed. Inductive analysis (IA) revealed that parents habitually offer children gadgets at home. Also, the teachers expressed a positive opinion on gadget usage where preschoolers simply learn from media and gadget's applications. However, the teachers asserted that usage time needs to be controlled and the amount of usage depends on the role of parents and teachers. Teachers' attitude and habits were found to be moderate in lesson planning and improving the social skills of preschoolers but minimal for addressing their sedentary behaviour

Efficacy of Oral Zinc Sulphate in the Treatment of Recalcitrant Common Warts

Background: To determine the efficacy of oral Zinc Sulphate in treatment of recalcitrant common warts.Methods: In this randomized control trial 90 patients with recalcitrant warts were randomly allocated to two groups by lottery method named Group A (Oral Zinc sulphate) and Group B (Placebo). Group A patients were given oral zinc sulphate in a dose of 10mg/kg to a maximum dose of 600mg/day for two months. Group B received glucose tablets as placeboResults: Out of 45 patients in oral zinc sulphate group, 28 (62.22%) patients had complete eradication or at least 75% reduction in number of warts noted at presentation. On the other hand in the placebo group only 2 (4.44%) patients had > 75% reduction in number of warts.In oral zinc sulphate group it was noted that only 6 (13.3%) patients had less than 50% reduction in no. of warts. 11 (24.4%) had 50-75% efficacy and majority 28 (62.2%) patients had > 75 % reduction in number of warts. In contrast, in the placebo group 33 patients (73.3%) had less than 50% reduction, followed by 10 (22.2%) patients having 50-75% reduction and only 2 (4.4%) patients had > 75% reduction in no. of wartsConclusion: Warts are common viral infection of skin caused by Human Papilloma Virus. Despite various treatment options available at times warts become recalcitrant. Oral zinc sulphate is an effective treatment option for recalcitrant multiple viral warts. Being oral therapy it is easy to take with less frequent follow up visits required

Effect of cadmium chloride and ascorbic acid exposure on the vital organs of freshwater Cyprinid, Labeo rohita

The present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of sub lethal concentrations of heavy metal, cadmium chloride (CdCl2.H2O), ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and their combination on Labeo rohita. The effect was investigated on the basis of histopathological examinations of control and experimental groups exposed to heavy metal. The acute semi statistical toxicity test for L. rohita revealed 96 h LC50 value 22.92 mg L-1 for cadmium chloride (CdCl2.H2O). 215 fingerlings of L. rohita were exposed to three different experimental conditions for 96 h: 11.46 mg L-1 CdCl2.H2O, or 450 mg Kg-1 ascorbic acid or combination of both these doses. No alterations were observed in gill sections upon comparison between treated and untreated groups. Congestion in sinusoids, fatty change, an increase in Kupffer cells and intrahepatic lymphocytes was observed in CdCl2.H2O treated group. In kidney sections of heavy metal treated group, degeneration of the glomerular tissue, occlusion in tubular lumen and necrosis were observed. Similar changes but in less severe form, as described above, were observed in the fish exposed to combination of CdCl2.H2O and ascorbic indicating that ascorbic acid do detoxify the effect of heavy metal to some extant. Our results indicate that cadmium chloride (CdCl2.H2O), if present in fresh water bodies, may act as strong toxic agent for L. rohita.Keywords: Labeo rohita, cadmium chloride (CdCl2.H2O), ascorbic acid, histopatholog

Comparison of neonatal respiratory morbidity in neonates delivered at term by elective caesarean section with and without antenatal Corticosteroid

Introduction:Performing elective caesarean section prior to 39 completed weeks,it can lead to breathing problems in neonates as compare to those, who are born through caesarean section without antenatal Corticosteroid. WHO recommends the administration of intramuscular corticosteroids either dexamethasone or betamethason (total 24mg in divided doses) in the antenatal period, when there is a risk of preterm birth. The advantages and disadvantages of a similar regimen given after 37 weeksof pregnancy prior to elective caesarean section (LSCS) to prevent respiratory morbidity in a newborn is yet a topic of discussion.In Pakistan still,many clinicians are doing caesarean section at 37 or 38 weeks without antenatal Corticosteroids. The rationale is to emphasize the use of steroidsbefore caesareanat 39 weeks. Objective:To compare neonatal respiratory distress in neonates delivered between 37 --38+6 weeks of gestation by elective caesarean section with and without antenatal Corticosteroid. Study design:Randomized controlled trial. Setting:Department of Gynae & Obstetrics, unit 2, Shalamar Hospital, Lahore. Duration:Six months from 12th September 2018 to 12th March 2019. Materials and Methods:The study included women who were, planned for elective LSCS at 37-38+6 weeks, divided into two groups .The sample size was 140 (70 in each group),recruited by non-probability consécutive sampling. Inclusion criteria were singleton pregnancy, at 37 to 38+6 weeks for elective LSCS due to indications like primi breech, previous caesarian scar/scars, and maternal wish. All eligible participants were allocated to one of the following groups. Group (A) received an injection of dexamethasone 48 to 72 hours before elective LSCS. Group (B), did not receive an injection of dexamethasone. The outcome to be measuredinthis study were the Apgar score at 1& 5 minutes, the incidence of transient tachpnea of the neonate (TTN) and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in newborns,and the need for mechanical ventilation among neonates from two different groups. The data was collected and analyzed by SPSS version 20.Descriptive statistic were applied to calculate the mean and SD for age, gestation age & BMI. Student T-test was used to compare the continuous outcome measures. Neonatal respiratory morbidity was compared in two groups by using the chi-square test at the level of significance of 0.05.Results:Mean age in Group-A was 28.12± 5.6 and in Group-B was 28.97± 6.3 years. There was no statistically significant difference in these groups in termsof Body mass index, gestational age at the time of delivery, age of mother, birth weight, Apgar score at 1 and 5 min,and indications for cesarean section. Neonatal respiratory morbidity was higher in Group-B as compared to Group-A (30% vs.12.9%)p-value-0.013. Conclusion:Antenatal dexamethasone administration significantly reduces the respiratory morbidity among neonates delivered at 37 to 38+6by elective cesarean section. But further studies are required to assess the beneficial role of dexamethasone in the reduction of neonatal respiratory morbidity with a large sample size.Keywords:Neonatal respiratory morbidity, transient tachypnea of newborn, elective caesarean section, antenatal corticosteroids

Comparison of neonatal respiratory morbidity in neonates delivered at term by elective caesarean section with and without antenatal Corticosteroid

Introduction:Performing elective caesarean section prior to 39 completed weeks,it can lead to breathing problems in neonates as compare to those, who are born through caesarean section without antenatal Corticosteroid. WHO recommends the administration of intramuscular corticosteroids either dexamethasone or betamethason (total 24mg in divided doses) in the antenatal period, when there is a risk of preterm birth. The advantages and disadvantages of a similar regimen given after 37 weeksof pregnancy prior to elective caesarean section (LSCS) to prevent respiratory morbidity in a newborn is yet a topic of discussion.In Pakistan still,many clinicians are doing caesarean section at 37 or 38 weeks without antenatal Corticosteroids. The rationale is to emphasize the use of steroidsbefore caesareanat 39 weeks. Objective:To compare neonatal respiratory distress in neonates delivered between 37 --38+6 weeks of gestation by elective caesarean section with and without antenatal Corticosteroid. Study design:Randomized controlled trial. Setting:Department of Gynae & Obstetrics, unit 2, Shalamar Hospital, Lahore. Duration:Six months from 12th September 2018 to 12th March 2019. Materials and Methods:The study included women who were, planned for elective LSCS at 37-38+6 weeks, divided into two groups .The sample size was 140 (70 in each group),recruited by non-probability consécutive sampling. Inclusion criteria were singleton pregnancy, at 37 to 38+6 weeks for elective LSCS due to indications like primi breech, previous caesarian scar/scars, and maternal wish. All eligible participants were allocated to one of the following groups. Group (A) received an injection of dexamethasone 48 to 72 hours before elective LSCS. Group (B), did not receive an injection of dexamethasone. The outcome to be measuredinthis study were the Apgar score at 1& 5 minutes, the incidence of transient tachpnea of the neonate (TTN) and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in newborns,and the need for mechanical ventilation among neonates from two different groups. The data was collected and analyzed by SPSS version 20.Descriptive statistic were applied to calculate the mean and SD for age, gestation age & BMI. Student T-test was used to compare the continuous outcome measures. Neonatal respiratory morbidity was compared in two groups by using the chi-square test at the level of significance of 0.05.Results:Mean age in Group-A was 28.12± 5.6 and in Group-B was 28.97± 6.3 years. There was no statistically significant difference in these groups in termsof Body mass index, gestational age at the time of delivery, age of mother, birth weight, Apgar score at 1 and 5 min,and indications for cesarean section. Neonatal respiratory morbidity was higher in Group-B as compared to Group-A (30% vs.12.9%)p-value-0.013. Conclusion:Antenatal dexamethasone administration significantly reduces the respiratory morbidity among neonates delivered at 37 to 38+6by elective cesarean section. But further studies are required to assess the beneficial role of dexamethasone in the reduction of neonatal respiratory morbidity with a large sample size.Keywords:Neonatal respiratory morbidity, transient tachypnea of newborn, elective caesarean section, antenatal corticosteroids

Leadership behavior : structural relationship of emotional intelligence (self awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management) among public school personnel in Malaysia

Various changes in the educational system have evolved for educator leaders recently. However, negative impacts on leader’s emotional intelligence due to leadership behavior that arise problems in producing good quality of work can have significant effect on their performance. This study investigates the impact of an emotional intelligence on leadership behaviour aswell as fitness of the suggested hypothetical model and the observed data. Using a structured questionnaire derived from the literature, data were collected from 306 (89%) subjects from a 15 SBT (High Performance Schools) in Malaysia which were chosen by cluster sampling procedur. the data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM); an acceptable level of model fit was found. Two sets of questionnaire to measure emotional intelligence (Emotional Competence Inventory) (ECI) and leadership behavior (Multi-factor leadership questionnaires (MLQ) were administered. The inclusion criteria consisted of leaders in a school setting. Results: Three and-six educator leaders from fifteen SBT schools in Malaysia were recruited into the study. Respondents were on average 41 years old (range= 26-60 years). The Majority were female (n=174), education level (degree; n=255), and working experience (range=11-20 years; n=107. In examining the relationship between emotional intelligence with leadership behavior, EQ was positively related to transformational leadership, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.61, and transactional leadership, p< 0.001, R2 = 0.77. The result shows that the model fit indices demonstrates TLI (Tucker Index), NFI (Normed Fit), RFI (Relative Fit Index), IFI (Incremental Fit Index) and CFI (Comparative Fit Index) are more than .90 (from .932 until .975), RMSEA (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation) also shows 0.055 (RMSEA <. 08) (Byrne, 2001). These values indicate an adequate fit and it’s obviously met the basic requirment of model fit. The values of the Chi-Squared Roots Goodness of Fit also show 1.87, below 3. Therefore, the model is significantly fit and support to the data. On a practical note, the assessment of psychological constructs in school setting eg; EQ and leadership could possibly assist in enhancing the work performances in delivering huge benefits to the society especially in the educational contexts

“MedEd” on Twitter: A Social Network Analysis

Background. In the current era, Twitter is an increasingly popular tool for the dissemination of information as a social media voice. Social media is a valid, but underutilized, education tool at medical education institutions. Social media technologies provide opportunities for the presentation of information in alternative and multiple formats to enhance engagement, content creation, and motivation for individual and collaborative learning. Objective. This study examined the type of social structure and sub-clusters do exist regarding “MedEd” on the Twitter network. Additionally, it determined the top opinion leaders in these networks and which type of topics generates users’ interest regarding “MedEd”. Methods. This study applied NodeXL to analyze the results and retrieved Twitter data on November 1, 2022 by using the keywords “MedEd”. The data were saved and interpreted in the “vertices” and “edges” on the NodeXL worksheets. Results. We found that the top opinion leader (vertex) “Cryptovitas” had the highest in- betweenness and out-degree centrality. “Innov_medicine” had the in-degree centrality for networks. “In-Degree” and “Out-Degree” are the count of Tweets an opinion leader gets and forwards messages out, correspondingly. The study found that although “Cryptovitas” had the highest in-betweenness centrality, “taylorswift13” had the maximum number of followers (91,523,045) with in-betweenness centrality of 0.0. This indicates that the vertex having maximum influence with the largest number of in-betweenness centrality has not linked with several followers. Conclusions. Using Twitter embodies a potential prospect to engage the medical education community. The content of top networks’ tweets was around the number of “MedEd” innovations with the potential to significantly improve medical education delivery and innovative technologies in healthcare services. There is no link between the number of followers and in-betweenness centrality to influence the strength of social media voice. Although clinical and social tweets were there, not much was discussed regarding the curriculum reforms, continued professional development, technical issues in MedEd, and assessments. This triggers the insistence for rapid and innovative adaptations to the new learning environments and remarkable revolutions in medical education, including the encouragement of evidence-based education. The Twitter discussions promoted a research network circulating a wide range of informative innovations and collaborations