Assessment of derangement in biochemical profile in primary open angle glaucoma patients presenting at a tertiary care hospital

Objective: To assess the changes in high sensitivity C Reactive protein (hs-CRP), serum cholesterol, uric acid, creatinine, bilirubin and ALT in patients of primary open angle glaucoma. Material and methods: Comparative cross-sectional study conducted between April 2021 and October 2021 at departments of Ophthalmology and Pathology, --removed for blind review----44 POAG patients and 54 healthy controls volunteered to participate in the study. POAG was diagnosed as per criteria. Venous blood was drawn for analysis of serum cholesterol, uric acid, creatinine, bilirubin, ALT and hs-CRP.  hs-CRP was performed on ELISA plate reader Platos R496 while spectrophotometric analysis of serum uric acid, creatinine, and cholesterol was carried on Beckman Coulter AU-700. Results: Mean hemoglobin (Hb), Total leukocyte count (TLC), serum urea, creatinine, uric acid, ALT, bilirubin, cholesterol and HbA1c were 12.80 ±1.50g, 8.88±1.92 mm3, 5.95±5.47 µmol/l, 92.19±21.81 µmol/l, 305.85±79.92 mmol/l, 34.31±18.26 IU/L, 9.26±3.11 µmol/l, 5.18±0.96 mmol/l,6.70±1.28 %respectively whereas the Mean IOP in POAG patients was 28mmHg, mean CCT was 516.6 µm, and mean vertical CDR was 0.6. High frequency of hs-CRP positivity (50 percent) was reported in our patients. Significantly lower uric acid levels were observed in primary open angle glaucoma patients versus controls ie 305.85±79.92 mmol/l vs 344.36±37.24 mmol/l (P value < 0.05). Serum creatinine was significantly different between mild and severe groups i.e. 88±14.7 vs 113.1±32.4. (p value <0.001*) Conclusion: High frequency of hs-CRP positivity and low uric acid levels suggest the presence of para inflammation in patients of POAG. Key words: Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), intraocular pressure (IOP), high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), uric acid (UA

Practice of standard Cross Infection Protocol in Private Dental Clinics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

Background: Infection control, which is considered to be the backbone of dentistry, has become a particularly essential piece of dental training because both the dentists and patients are at an expanded danger of cross-contamination. Dental clinical settings represent a high organic hazard of spreading a wide scope of microorganisms. The objective of this study is to gather information of different dentists regarding their practice of standard cross infection protocols and how can they improve the same in their private practices. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in dental clinics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KPK from January 2020 to July 2020 by distributing a questionnaire among dentists. It was a pre-designed questionnaire that was circulated in Google forms through Whatsapp and emails. The questionnaire was divided into 2 sections. Data was compiled and statistical tests were applied using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS® ver.23.0 Results: Regarding cross infection control measures, maximum dentists seem to have knowledge of cross infection control techniques. A significant difference was found (p= 0.05) between male & female dentists in disposing dental waste from clinical set up properly. A significant difference was also found between male & female dentists about rubber dam isolation (p=0.02). Conclusion: The result of this study showed that practice of dentists in KPK is not up to standard protocols of cross infection control. In this way, the need of great importance is to authorize and execute better proportions of infection control to improve dental practice in KPK. Key words: Infection control, Dental practice, Sterilizatio

The Combined Effect of Safety Specific Transformational Leadership and Safety Consciousness on Psychological Well-Being of Healthcare Workers

Occupational health researchers have begun to realize that the psychological well-being of healthcare workers who are providing treatment against COVID-19 is deteriorating. However, there is minimal research conducted on it, particularly in the context of leadership. The current study aims to fill this important gap by identifying critical factors that can enhance the psychological well-being of healthcare workers. We proposed that safety specific transformational leadership enhances psychological well-being among healthcare workers, and COVID-19 perceived risk mediates this relationship. Furthermore, the safety conscientiousness of healthcare workers was proposed to be a boundary condition that enhances the negative relationship between safety-specific transformational leadership and COVID-19 perceived risk. Data were collected from healthcare workers (N = 232) treating COVID-19 patients in the hospitals of Pakistan through well-established adopted questionnaires. The discriminant and convergent validity of the data was tested through confirmatory factor analysis by using AMOS statistical package. The mediation and moderation hypotheses were tested by using PROCESS Macro by Hayes. The results showed that safety specific transformational leadership enhances psychological well-being among healthcare workers, and COVID-19 perceived risk mediates this relationship. Moderation results also confirmed that safety conscientiousness moderates the relationship between safety specific transformational leadership and COVID-19 perceived risk. This study offers implications for both researchers and practitioners

Determining the Effect of Social and Academic Support on STEM Confidence and Learning Environment Among Female Engineering Students in Pakistan

Gender inclusion and female participation in STEM courses have always been challenging in a patriarchal country like Pakistan. Women are often underrepresented in engineering fields, as engineering fields are usually considered manly. Female students confront many challenges, be it workplace or educational institutes. Some of the self-perceived and determined challenges are discussed in this study. As determined through this research study, factors affecting female participation are low STEM confidence, Gender disparity, Social and Academic Support, and Learning Environment. Empirical Evidence is collected using a questionnaire with 25 items based on the Likert scale. The dependent variables are STEM Confidence and Learning Environment, whereas the independent variables are Social and Academic Support. Participants included 170 female UG and PG engineering students from 4 universities in Pakistan. Data were collected through the Questionnaire, which included an online survey. Correlation method and statistical test MANOVA were applied, using SPSS 21 to determine the effect of social and academic support on the STEM confidence of female students and to find a relationship between the variables. Results indicate a positive correlation between the variables STEM confidence and social and academic Support and Learning environment, whereas a slight correlation has been observed between social Support and LE. MANOVA results indicated a significant effect of Social and Academic Support on the STEM confidence of female students. Empirical Evidence shows that Social and academic support can affect the STEM of female engineering students, and the LE of females can also be affected by social and academic Support

Surveillance of molecular markers of antimalarial drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), Pakistan

This molecular epidemiological study was designed to determine the antimalarial drug resistance pattern, and the genetic diversity of malaria isolates collected from a war-altered Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), in Pakistan. Clinical isolates were collected from Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai and Kurram agencies of FATA region between May 2017 and May 2018, and they underwent DNA extraction and amplification. The investigation of gene polymorphisms in drug resistance genes (dhfr, dhps, crt, and mdr1) of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax was carried out by pyrosequencing and Sanger sequencing, respectively. Out of 679 PCR-confirmed malaria samples, 523 (77%) were P. vivax, 121 (18%) P. falciparum, and 35 (5%) had mixed-species infections. All P. falciparum isolates had pfdhfr double mutants (C59R+S108N), while pfdhfr/pfdhps triple mutants (C59R+S108N+A437G) were detected in 11.5% of the samples. About 97.4% of P. falciparum isolates contained pfcrt K76T mutation, while pfmdr1 N86Y and Y184F mutations were present in 18.2% and 10.2% of the samples. P. vivax pvdhfr S58R mutation was present in 24.9% of isolates and the S117N mutation in 36.2%, while no mutation in the pvdhps gene was found. Pvmdr1 F1076L mutation was found in nearly all samples, as it was observed in 98.9% of isolates. No significant anti-folate and chloroquine resistance was observed in P. vivax; however, mutations associated with antifolate-resistance were found, and the chloroquine-resistant gene has been observed in 100% of P. falciparum isolates. Chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance were found to be high in P. falciparum and low in P. vivax. Chloroquine could still be used for P. vivax infection but need to be tested in vivo, whereas a replacement of the artemisinin combination therapy for P. falciparum appears to be justified

Factors Associated with Endodontic Flare-Ups

OBJECTIVE:The objective of the current study was to determine the frequency and factors of endodontic flare-ups and to compare the post obturation pain in single visit and multi visit root canal therapy, at the department of operative dentistry Sardar Begum Dental College (SBDC), Peshawar.MATERIALS AND METHODS:It was a cross sectional study, carried out at the department of operative dentistry, Sardar Begum Dental College, Peshawar. A total sample of 200 subjects was studied. Treatment protocols were standardized and, after taking informed consent endodontic procedure was carried out. Chi-square test was used to explore the relationship between endodontic flare ups with study variables.RESULTS:Our sample consisted of 54% females and 46% males. Frequency of endodontic flare ups was experienced by 48% subjects.96.2% had used antibiotics, Endodontic flare ups was found to be significantly associated with gender, preoperative diagnosis ,preoperative pain and medication while it was not found to be associated with any other variable studied.CONCLUSION:It was concluded that prevalence of post preparation pain during root canal treatment was high and significantly affected by pre-operative pain, preoperative diagnosis and medication. However, careful selection and adherence to the basic principles of endodontic therapy may reduce the occurrence of flare ups

Evaluation of the Occlusal Contact between the Opposing Teeth and the Cusp of Carabelli in Maxillary Permanent First Molars in Patients Visiting Peshawar Dental College

Background: The Cusp of Carabelli is a small additional cusp which is situated on the mesiopalatal surface of first maxillary molars. This nonfunctional cusp comes in many forms including furrows, ridges or pits and is collectively known as the Carabelli trait Objective: To evaluate the frequency of the occlusal contacts between the accessory cusp of Carabelli and the opposing arch tooth among both genders in patients attending the out-patients department of Peshawar Dental Hospital, Peshawar Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 subjects visiting the OPD of Peshawar Dental Hospital from October 2022 to December 2022. The sample size was calculated using WHO formula N=p(100-p)z2/d2 (Http://www.fao.orgThe age group selected for the participants was from 13-30 years. Consecutive sampling technique was used.). Articulating paper was used to assess the occlusal contacts caused by the cusp of Carabelli. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Pearson’s chi square test was applied to analyze the data. P value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results of the current study showed that 10.7% of the participants experienced occlusal contacts caused by the presence of their accessory cusp with the opposing arch tooth with no statistically significant difference between genders. Conclusion: The cusp of Carabelli is the most prevailing variation found on the palatal aspect of mesiopalatal cusp of permanent maxillary first molars in a hospital-based inhabitants of Peshawar with rare occlusal contacts experienced by the patients. Key words: Cusp of Carabelli, Maxillary permanent first molars, Occlusal contact