Utilization of E-Books among Undergraduate Medical Students at Lahor

The purpose of this study is to report on a survey that was carried out to access the perception of the academic users, and their awareness about the use of e-books at existing level. The survey also seeks to find out the preferences of the users regarding the format for using books. A quantitative approach which employs a survey technique was used to collect information on e-books utilization habit among medical students. Statistical analyses were carried out on the data using Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). This study found that most of the undergraduate students have common habits as they read e-books for academic purpose and still preferred to read text books in print format. The factors; such as easy and round the clock access, non-consumption of energy through physical visit to the library and users friendly features offer a comfortable platform for the students to use the reference e-books. However, unreliable service, eye fatigue, requirement of username and password cause to feel uncomfortable with the service. Moreover, the role of librarian is perceived to be an important remedy for all the inconvenience incurred. Only 119 medical undergraduates participated in the study. Furthermore, these students are enrolled in 5th year MBBS in the oldest government sector medical colleges of Lahore. This study is important in terms of obtaining a better understanding of e-books utilization and to provide a rich insight from academic professional to enhance the e-books collection. This is believed to be the first published study about the utilization of e-books by the medical undergraduate students'

Effect of iron-fortified jamun leather on the Asunra-induced anemia in Sprague Dawley rats

IntroductionMicronutrients such as minerals and vitamins are required in a minute quantity but play a pivotal role in the functioning of the body. Therefore, deficiency in one of them can lead to lethal health conditions. Iron deficiency anaemia is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies across the world and is affecting women and children.MethodsThe present study aimed to investigate the anti-anaemic effect of fortified jamun leather on anaemia biomarkers and haematology in anaemic female Sprague Dawley rats. A total of 40 Sprague Dawley rats were used in 4 groups. Iron deficiency anaemia was induced by oral administration of the Asunra drug. The treatments were fed at two dosage levels i.e., 40 and 60% iron-fortified leather. All animals were treated for 60 days and the parameters including biochemical, and histopathology of the kidney and liver were examined.ResultsThe experiment's findings showed that the group fed with iron-fortified leather (G3) succeeded significantly (P < 0.05) in restoring the serum iron (98.68 ± 2.88 μg/dL), haemoglobin (12.41 ± 0.32 g/dL), ferritin (24.54 ± 1.98 ng/mL) and haematocrit levels (39.30 ± 1.66%) at the end of the 60 days period. Additionally, the treated group's mean values for transferrin and total iron binding capacity were lower than those of the anaemic rats, indicating an improvement in iron levels. The microscopic analysis revealed that treatments had no toxic effects on the kidney and liver tissues, except in the diseased group, which had necrosis and irregular cell structure.ConclusionConclusively, iron-fortified jamun leather helped improve iron deficiency biomarkers and imparted a non-toxic effect on tissues in rats

A preliminary study on aquatic insect diversity and abundance in relation to fluctuating physiochemical parameters of an artificial pond

This preliminary study was conducted from April to October 2019, and hold the first account to outline the diversity of aquatic insects with influence to the fluctuating physiochemical parameters in the pond of Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University Quetta. The collection of 722 individuals in total presented four orders (Hemiptera, Ephemeroptera, Diptera and Odonata) and seven families. These individuals were labeled to generic level as Gerris sp., Notonecta sp., Anopheles sp., Thaumalae sp., Sympetrum sp., Orthetrum sp. and Heptagenia sp. Shannon-Weinner diversity and Simpson’s diversity index revealed greater values for backswimmers and mayflies (Notonecta and Heptagenia sp.). Additionally, Margalef’s richness index was also recorded highest (1.163) for backs-swimmers. Amongst physiochemical parameters, water temperature was ordinated in Gaussian’s species packing model. This ordination illustrated wider curve for Notonecta sp. and narrower curve for Anopheles sp., suggesting the maximum and minimum tolerance (temperature) range for these species in this specific pond community. Water pH of the pond also altered slightly and ranged from 9.13- 10.3 during April to August. As of the total dissolve solids (TDS), this study observed a raised from 253.16 mg/L to 432.11 mg/L till the end. Since aquatic insects play vigorous role in the stability of aquatic ecosystems, more relevant studies are required to be conducted to evaluate the broader range of these insects

Perceived corporate social responsibility and pro-environmental behaviors: The role of organizational identification and coworker pro-environmental advocacy

Despite research suggesting that pro-environmental behaviors offer a range of positive benefits for organizations and that corporate social responsibility (CSR) positively affects employee behaviors and attitudes, very few studies have investigated how CSR affects pro-environmental behaviours. As such, this study investigates the impact of perceived CSR on employees' pro-environmental behaviours through organizational identification and coworkers' pro-environmental advocacy. Using a multistage sampling technique, a survey of line managers was conducted across 32 hotels in the understudied context of Malaysia's hotel industry. Based on 331 completed questionnaires, the results suggest that perceived CSR activities drive organizational identification and trigger coworkers’ pro-environmental advocacy, which in turn generate employees’ pro-environmental behaviours. The study offers valuable insights into the complex relationship between perceived CSR and pro-environmental behaviors and discusses the theoretical and research contributions and managerial implications.</p

Acidic and enzymatic saccharification of waste agricultural biomass for biotechnological production of xylitol

Abstract Background The plant biomass and agro-industrial wastes show great potential for their use as attractive low cost substrates in biotechnological processes. Wheat straw and corn cob as hemicellulosic substrates were acid hydrolyzed and enzymatically saccharified for high xylose production. The hydrolysate was concentrated and fermented by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces for production of xylitol. Results Acid hydrolysis of wheat straw and corn cob in combination with enzymatic hydrolysis showed great potential for production of free sugars from these substrates. Kluyveromyces produced maximum xylitol from acid treated wheat straw residues with enzymatic saccharification. The percentage xylitol yield was 89.807 g/L and volumetric productivity of 0.019 g/L/h. Kluyveromyces also produced maximum xylitol from corn cob acid hydrolyzed liquor with xylitol yield 87.716 g/L and volumetric productivity 0.018 g/L/h. Conclusion Plant and agro-industrial biomass can be used as a carbohydrate source for the production of xylitol and ethanol after microbial fermentation. This study revealed that wheat straw acid and enzyme hydrolyzed residue proved to be best raw material for production of xylitol with S. cerevisiae. The xylitol produced can be utilized in pharmaceuticals after purification on industrial scale as pharmaceutical purposes