A Study of ICT Competencies among University Library Professionals of Punjab, Pakistan

The main objective of this study was to assess the status of ICT competencies of LIS professionals, methods of acquiring ICT skills and suggestions to survive in this digital era. A quantitative method was used and a self-administrated questionnaire distributed among 206 university library professionals working in Punjab through google form, and email. Collected data was analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings reveal that most of the LIS Professionals had advance level competencies in library management systems, simple searching techniques, proficiency in social media and search engine usage. They also possessed moderate skills in basic hardware and software installation, office management, and required computer programming skills, Linux OS and cloud computing. The majority of the university library professionals preferred personal practices, workshops, seminars and conferences for the acquisition of ICT competencies along with the role of LIS Schools. The results of this study will be useful for LIS schools, professional associations and groups for future planning and policy making to inculcate ICT competencies in the LIS professionals in the Punjab, Pakistan

The Phytochemical and Comparative Anticancer Study of Methanolic and Chloroform Extracts of Psidium guajava L. Leaves of Pakistani Origin

The chief focus of our study is to evaluate the phytochemical and anti-cancer activity of methanol (PGM) and chloroform extracts (PGC) of the leaves of Psidium guajava (guava) collected from local area of district Sialkot, Pakistan. Shade dried milled leaves was subjected to extraction (maceration) with methanol and chloroform. Quantitative and qualitative screenings by GC-MS and phytochemical techniques were performed. Then different secondary metabolites and phytochemical compounds were identified which are typically associated with the existence of therapeutic characteristics. Psidium guajava has been extensively used as herbal remedies like, anti-diarrheal, antihypertensive, antibacterial, antifungal as well as to control obesity, ulcer, diabetes. In this study, both extracts of P. guajava were evaluated for their anticancer activities against HeLa cell-lines (cancerous cells). The healthiest anticancer response in the form of cell-line suppression was perceived with 200µg/mL of both extracts, PGM showed 81% and PGC exhibited 91% while the standard drug doxorubicin presented around 76% inhibition. The comparative better result was seen with chloroform extract than methanolic abstract. In conclusion, the chloroform and methanol extracts of our nominated plant from Pakistan origin has a good source of phytochemicals that revealed an outstanding anti-cancer potential. Keywords: Psidium guajava, anticancer, phytochemicals, methanol extracts, secondary metabolites

Hydroxypropyl cellulose-based orally disintegrating films of promethazine HCl for the treatment of motion sickness

Purpose: To prepare and characterize orally disintegrating films (ODFs) of promethazine hydrochloride (HCl) for prompt treatment of motion sickness.Methods: Films were prepared by solvent casting method using hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) as film former and glycerin as plasticizer along with a saliva stimulating and sweetening agent. Nine different film formulations were prepared and evaluated for their characteristics including thickness, disintegration time, tensile strength and drug release behavior.Results: The prepared films were transparent and slightly sticky in nature with thickness that ranged from 0.22 mm to 0.29 mm and tensile strength of 0.56 N/cm² to 2.49 N/cm². The disintegration time of film formulations ranged from 26.3 to 52.7 s and a majority of formulations released approx. 80 % of the drug within 10 min with a non-Fickian diffusion pattern.Conclusion: The study concludes that the orally disintegrating films of promethazine HCl can be prepared using HPC as film former.Key words: Orally disintegrating films, Promethazine, Solvent casting, Motion sicknes

CORRELATION OF SERUM IMMUNOGLOBULIN E LEVELS WITH ASTHMA SEVERITY IN CHILDREN (2-12 YEARS) PRESENTING TO A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

OBJECTIVE: To determine the correlation of serum IgE levels with asthma severity in children (2-12 years) presenting to Pediatric Outpatient Department, Liaquat National Hospital Karachi. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done at Department of Pediatric Medicine, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi from June 2016 to December 2016. A total of 106 children with symptoms of airflow obstruction characterized by recurrent cough, difficulty in breathing and wheeze were included in this study. The severity of asthma were classified as intermittent, mild, moderate or severe persistant asthma based on subjective experience of the patients. Blood samples for serum IgE levels were taken and serum IgE levels were estimated by automated chemiluminescence system. RESULTS: The average age of the children was 6.38±6.0 years. In this study, intermittent asthma was observed in 24 (22.64%) cases. There were 30 (28.6%) children with mild asthma, 40 (37.74%) children with moderate asthma and severe asthma was found in 12 (11.32%) children. The mean IgE concentration was lowest in children with intermittent asthma (277.92±45.87 IU/ml), higher in children with mild persistent asthma (487.47±58.47 IU/ml) and highest in children with moderate and severe persistent asthma (688.75±52.08 and 1078.83±64.10IU/ml), respectively. . CONCLUSION: Our results support the hypothesis that severity of asthma is reflected by serum IgE levels in children. We found that the mean IgE concentration correlates with the severity of asthma, being highest in the patients with severe asthma and dropping down as the symptoms wane

Use of off-label and unlicensed drugs in pediatric patients: A longitudinal prevalence survey from Lahore, Pakistan

Purpose: To assess the extent of use of unlicensed/off-label drug in the children hospitalized in The Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: A prospective prevalence study was carried out in the selected hospital. A total of 1946 pediatric patients were hospitalized during study period. The patients’ demographic data and unlicensed/off-label drug use were noted by the researcher using a structured questionnaire and then analyzed. Results: During the survey period, 102 (5.24 %) pediatric patients received at least one off-label drug/unlicensed drug. The unlicensed drug was administered to 65 patients (63.7 %) while off-label drug was administered to 37 patients (36.3%). Milrinone (23.5%) was the most frequently prescribed unlicensed drug. Conclusion: The administration of unlicensed/off-label drug to treat different diseases in pediatric population is widespread in the health facility studied. These findings will provide guidance to new researchers in clinical trials, especially on cardiovascular drugs, opioid analgesic, antiemetic and anticancer drugs

Application Potentials of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria and Fungi as an Alternative to Conventional Weed Control Methods

Weeds are the plants usually grown on unwanted places and are notorious for causing interruptions in agricultural settings. Remarkable yield losses have been reported in fields infested with weeds worldwide. So far, these weeds cause about 34% of losses to yields of major agricultural crops and pose threats to economic condition of the farmers. Conventionally, weed control was achieved by the use of chemical herbicides and traditional agronomic practices. But these methods are no more sustainable as the magnitude of threats imposed by these conventionally outdated methods such as chemical herbicides is greater than the benefits achieved and their continuous use has disturbed biodiversity and weed ecology along with herbicide resistance in some weeds. Herbicide residues are held responsible for human health hazards as well. Therefore the future of weed control is to rely on alternative approaches which may be biological agents such as bacteria and fungi. This chapter highlights the potentials of using bacterial and fungal biocontrol agents against weeds in farmer fields. Moreover, detailed review on merits and demerits of conventional weed control methods is discussed in this chapter

Characterizing Elite Scholars of Library and Information Science: A Bibliometric Analysis

Publication metrics have become crucial to measure the productivity and impact of individuals and organizations for highlighting their influence upon the knowledge world. This study aims to present a bibliometric analysis of the top two percent highly cited Library and Information Science (LIS) researchers in the Stanford University list of the top two percent researchers of various disciplines published in 2021. We have used the bibliometric method to analyze 254 highly cited LIS researchers. The findings show male dominance and female underrepresentation in LIS research. Leydesdorff, Loet is the most highly cited researcher of the LIS field. The Amsterdam School of Communications Research, Netherlands, is the most highly cited organization of LIS based on the highly cited researchers affiliated with it. The majority of LIS researchers belong to USA and UK. There is a meager contribution of Asian, Australian, and African countries producing highly cited LIS researchers. Highly cited LIS researchers are more familiar with publishing research in information retrieval, information seeking, and bibliometrics. Positions of researchers at different ranks by different measures depict their productivity, impact, h- index, and a composite score. A strong correlation exists between total publications and total citations. The study, in its nature, is unique and will provide an insight for young and emerging researchers for selection of research direction, persons for research collaboration, and a motivation to invest more efforts for impactful research

Boron application in clay-loam soil for improved growth, yield and protein contents of mungbean in water-stresses

Boron is considered important to improve the drought resistance, yield and protein contents of pulses. Two years of field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of boron application and water stress given at vegetative and flowering stages on growth, yield and protein contents of mungbean during spring 2014 and 2015. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with split-plot arrangement giving more emphasis to boron. The experiment comprised three water stress levels (normal irrigation, water stress at vegetative stage and water stress at reproductive phase) and four boron levels (0, 2, 4 and 6 kg ha-1). Final seed yield was significantly increased by different levels of boron application both under normal and water stressed conditions. The increase in yield was mainly due to greater plant height, number of pods bearing branches, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and 1000-grain weight. Boron application at 4 kg ha-1 caused 17%, 10% and 4% increase in grain yield under normal irrigation, stress at vegetative stage and water stress at reproductive phase, respectively. Protein contents were also increased (9-16%) at same boron treatment. Most parameters showed a marked decrease at higher dose (6 kg ha-1) of boron. In conclusion, the boron application at rate of 4 kg ha-1 in clay-loam soil performed the best to enhance mungbean growth, yield and seed protein both under normal and water stressed conditions