171 research outputs found
CONCEPTUALIZING HUMOR IN ADVERTISING: THE MODERATING ROLE OF SELF-MONITORING
This research paper explores the mediating role of attitudetowards the advertisement and attitude towards the brand, andmoderating role of self-monitoring in the relationships betweenperceived humor in the advertisement and purchase intention of the customer. Survey data was collected from 209 individuals after showing advertisements. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and macro developed by Preacher and Hays have been used to test moderation and mediation effect in the hypothesized model. A good fit between the data and tested model was observed. As predicted, purchase intention was positively related to perceived humor and full mediation effect has been found. The moderating role of self-monitoring has also been supported by the data. The findings are particularly salient for national and multinational media agenciesin Pakistan as well in the other parts of the world
Mothers’s education and working status; do they contribute to corrosive poisoning among paediatric patients of Karachi, Pakistan?
Objectives: To determine the causative factors behind corrosive poisoning in children like effect of working mothers, their educational status, financial background, family size and number of siblings.
Methods: The multi-centre, prospective, case series of all paediatric patients presenting to the Emergency Department of the National Institute of Child Health and the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from August 2008 to July 2009 is presented. It comprised all paediatric patients with a history of corrosive poisoning at the two hospitals. SPSS 20 was used for statistical analysis.
Results: Out of 105 cases, 56(53%) related to the private-sector Aga Khan University Hospital, and 49(47%) to the public-sector National Institute of Child Health. Of the total, 82(78%) were in 1-5 age group; 61 (58%) were males; and 44(42%) were females. While 59 (56.2%) mothers were educated, only 21 (20%) were working. Of the 46 (43.8%) non-educated mothers, 20 (19%) were working. The type of poison was alkali in 81(77%) cases, acid in 23(22%). The corrosive varied from liquid in 80(76%) cases to powder/gel/semi-solid form in 25(24%) exposures. Besides, 65 (61.9%) families had 3 or more siblings, and the age of siblings was less than 10 in 60 (57.14%) cases, In 34 (32.38%) cases, the chemical were kept in the original container, while in 71 (67.61%) cases other commonly used and familiar containers were used to store these chemicals. Kitchen was the most common place with 51 (48.57%) cases. The time of incident was afternoon in 51(48.57%) cases. Majority cases (n=23; 21.9%) occurred in October.
Conclusion: There are multiple contributory factors in corrosive exposure among children rather than the mother\u27s working status and her educational background
Elusive left ventricular thrombus: Diagnostic role of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging-A case report and review of the literature
Identification of left ventricular mural thrombus (LVT) may be challenging depending on the imaging modality used. We present a case of LVT which was incidentally identified on cine cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). A sixty-four years old female presented with worsening dyspnea on exertion with troponin elevation. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) revealed a dilated left ventricle (LV) and ejection fraction (EF 30%) with thinning and akinesis of inferior/inferolateral wall was noted with basal and mid inferior wall aneurysm, and thrombus was not identified. CMR done to ascertain viability of myocardium revealed a mural thrombus within basal inferior aneurysm. This was not visualized on transthoracic echocardiography with and without use of contrast. She underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement, resection and plication of posterior left ventricular aneurysm with removal of mural thrombus, and was started on anticoagulation with warfarin post-operatively for the apical thrombi. Cardiac magnetic resonance is a well suited imaging modality in detecting LVT due to its high resolution images and is more reproducible than TTE. In our patient, conventional TTE despite administration of echo-contrast agents failed to diagnose the presence of LVT in the basal inferior aneurysm as well as the apical thrombi. Delayed-enhancement CMR provides the greatest sensitivity for detection of left ventricular thrombus, superior to standard transthoracic and contrast-enhanced transthoracic echocardiography
Acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinopathy: A case report
A 25-year-old male presented with a complaint of acute visual loss in his right eye for two days. There was a history of visual loss in the left eye six months ago. Comprehensive eye examination showed evidence of posterior uveitis, and a placoid lesion on the right fundus. Further physical examination showed maculopapular rashes on the upper back which was highly suggestive of syphilis. Blood tests for venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) test and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test were ordered, which were both positive. Ocular syphilis should be suspected in all cases of uveitis. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment with appropriate antibiotics can prevent permanent visual loss
Nail as a foreign body in a neonate, an unusual presentation at an unusual age
Children are prone to ingest substances due to their exploratory nature and tendency to put everything in the mouth. Commonly ingested foreign bodies are coins, batteries and buttons. Foreign body ingestion in neonates is a very rare presentation and always needs important consideration as it can be a part of child abuse and can lead to serious life threatening consequence
Attitudes towards child restrains and seat belts usage in the learned population of Karachi, Pakistan.
BACKGROUND: Motor vehicles crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of injury relatedmorbidity and mortality in developed countries. Recent evidence proves that properly used child seat belts can dramatically reduce the risk of severe and life-threatening injury from MVCs. There are rarities of thought and inspiration regarding the use of child seat belts in our society and region, therefore we lack of data regarding factors and paucity of usage of child seat belts in motor vehicles.This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of child seat belt usage among the educated population in Karachi, Pakistan.
METHODS: Altogether 304 employees were investigated. They were employees of Aga Khan University who were using their cars and having children younger than 10 years old. A cross sectional observational study was designed, and a 36-item questionnaire in English was used to collect data on participants\u27 demographic details, designation, educational level, economic status, validity of driving license, number of children and cars, availability of adult seat belts and child seat belts along with their functionality, awareness, knowledge and attitude toward its use, and reason of not using these devices. SPSS version 20 for Windows was used to analyze the data and the Chi-square test was used.
RESULTS: Totally 290 participants were recruited with a response rate of 72% (212). Of 212 participants, 126 (59%) were male. 154 (72.6%) participants had valid driver licenses, and 154 (72.6%) had adult seat belts in their vehicles. Only 32 (15%) reported regular use of adult seat belts. Although 168 (79.2%) participants had some knowledge about child restrains (CRs), only 65 (22%) had CRs in their cars. Eighty-two (38.7%) participants got the knowledge about CRs and seat belts from media. Mothers were more concerned about the use of CRs than fathers. Only 14 (6.6%) parents were found to use both adult and child seat belts all the time. Of the 157 parents who did not us use CRs, 42 considered unnecessary, 35 lacked relevant knowledge. But 15 parents used CR against their children\u27s wills.
CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of CR usage among the employees at Aga Khan University, Karachi is dictated by the unavailability of CR, followed by ignorance, inconvenience, and nonacceptance by their children. The important issue of CR has consistently been ignored over the years and it has never gained enough popularity in Pakistan
Chemically synthesized CdSe quantum dots inhibit growth of human lung carcinoma cells via ROS generation
Quantum dots (QDs), semiconducting materials have potential applications in the field of electronic and biomedical applications including cancer therapy. In present study, cadmium selenide (CdSe) QDs were synthesized by chemical method. Octadecene was used as non-coordinating solvent which facilitated the formation of colloidal solutions of nanoparticles. CdSe QDs were characterized by UV-vis spectrometer and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The size measured by TEM was varied between 2-5 nm depending upon temperature. The cytotoxic activity of QDs was monitored by MTT assay, nuclear condensation, ROS activity and DNA fragmentation assay on human lung epithelial A549 cell line. Cells were treated with different concentrations of varying size of CdSe QDs for 24 h. CdSe QDs induced significant (p < 0.05) dose dependent cytotoxicity and this was comparable to the sizes of particles. Smaller particles were more cytotoxic to the large particles. Fluorescence microscopic analysis revealed that QDs induced oxidative stress generating significant ROS level and consequently, induced nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation. Study suggested the cytotoxicity of CdSe QDs via ROS generation and DNA fragmentation depending upon particles size
Neonatal Purpura Fulminans, a rare genetic disorder due to protein C deficiency: A case report.
Neonatal Purpura Fulminans is a rare and fatal disorder associated with perivascular haemorrhage and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Early clinical recognition, timely investigation and treatment is utmost important. A 6 days old baby boy was brought to emergency with blackish ulcers all over the body. Initially these were over the feet and scalp but later appeared on the abdomen. On examination, child was vitally stable, mildly icteric and had multiple erythematous large bullous blackish lesions on scalp, lower abdomen, perineum, back and soles. Neonatal reflexes and systemic examination was normal. Laboratory investigations showed normal CBC, PT/APTT and Protein S level while Protein C and Antithrombin III levels were low. Neonatal Purpura Fulminans is a life threatening condition and family screening is also mandatory for early recognition of disease in the siblings
Death certificate completion skills of hospital physicians in a developing country
Background
Death certificates (DC) can provide valuable health status data regarding disease incidence, prevalence and mortality in a community. It can guide local health policy and help in setting priorities. Incomplete and inaccurate DC data, on the other hand, can significantly impair the precision of a national health information database. In this study we evaluated the accuracy of death certificates at a tertiary care teaching hospital in a Karachi, Pakistan. Methods
A retrospective study conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan for a period of six months. Medical records and death certificates of all patients who died under adult medical service were studied. The demographic characteristics, administrative details, co-morbidities and cause of death from death certificates were collected using an approved standardized form. Accuracy of this information was validated using their medical records. Errors in the death certificates were classified into six categories, from 0 to 5 according to increasing severity; a grade 0 was assigned if no errors were identified, and 5, if an incorrect cause of death was attributed or placed in an improper sequence. Results
223 deaths occurred during the study period. 9 certificates were not accessible and 12 patients had incomplete medical records. 202 certificates were finally analyzed. Most frequent errors pertaining to patients’ demographics (92%) and cause/s of death (87%) were identified. 156 (77%) certificates had 3 or more errors and 124 (62%) certificates had a combination of errors that significantly changed the death certificate interpretation. Only 1% certificates were error free. Conclusion
A very high rate of errors was identified in death certificates completed at our academic institution. There is a pressing need for appropriate intervention/s to resolve this important issue
Conceptualizing Humor in Advertising: The Moderating Role of Self-Monitoring
This research paper explores the mediating role of attitude
towards the advertisement and attitude towards the brand, and
moderating role of self-monitoring in the relationships between
perceived humor in the advertisement and purchase intention of the
customer. Survey data was collected from 209 individuals after
showing advertisements. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural
equation modeling, and macro developed by Preacher and Hays have
been used to test moderation and mediation effect in the hypothesized
model. A good fit between the data and tested model was observed. As
predicted, purchase intention was positively related to perceived
humor and full mediation effect has been found. The moderating role
of self-monitoring has also been supported by the data. The findings
are particularly salient for national and multinational media agencies
in Pakistan as well in the other parts of the world
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