Positive Stereotyping Could Be Reasoned to Workplace Intergenerational Retention: A Study of Three Generations in the Health Sector of Pakistan

Purpose: The research on intergenerational work environment has attracted researchers in past decades variously and seems valuable in the present time era. The purpose of the present research is to examine the effect of positive stereotyping on intergenerational retention while organizational commitment plays mediating role in this relationship. Methodology: The sample consisted of 206 nurses from hospitals operating under the Punjab health department and the convenience sampling technique was used based on the cross-sectional design. The quantitative survey was conducted to assess the role of organizational commitment between positive stereotypes and workplace inter-generational retention. Findings: The results of the current study were analyzed on SMART PLS 3.2.2 software to predict reliability, assess the structural model, and hypothesized relationships between variables. Obtained results show that positive stereotyping has a significant direct effect on intergenerational retentions. Further organizational commitment significant positively mediates this relationship. Conclusion: Drawing upon generational cohort theory the research highlights the positive role of stereotyping among various generations at the workplace and recommends to the retention of educators is more positive stereotyping among various age group employee

Energy-aware Demand Selection and Allocation for Real-time IoT Data Trading

Personal IoT data is a new economic asset that individuals can trade to generate revenue on the emerging data marketplaces. Typically, marketplaces are centralized systems that raise concerns of privacy, single point of failure, little transparency and involve trusted intermediaries to be fair. Furthermore, the battery-operated IoT devices limit the amount of IoT data to be traded in real-time that affects buyer/seller satisfaction and hence, impacting the sustainability and usability of such a marketplace. This work proposes to utilize blockchain technology to realize a trusted and transparent decentralized marketplace for contract compliance for trading IoT data streams generated by battery-operated IoT devices in real-time. The contribution of this paper is two-fold: (1) we propose an autonomous blockchain-based marketplace equipped with essential functionalities such as agreement framework, pricing model and rating mechanism to create an effective marketplace framework without involving a mediator, (2) we propose a mechanism for selection and allocation of buyers' demands on seller's devices under quality and battery constraints. We present a proof-of-concept implementation in Ethereum to demonstrate the feasibility of the framework. We investigated the impact of buyer's demand on the battery drainage of the IoT devices under different scenarios through extensive simulations. Our results show that this approach is viable and benefits the seller and buyer for creating a sustainable marketplace model for trading IoT data in real-time from battery-powered IoT devices.Comment: Accepted in SmartComp 202

Positive Stereotyping Could Be Reasoned to Workplace Intergenerational Retention: A Study of Three Generations in the Health Sector of Pakistan

Purpose: The research on intergenerational work environment has attracted researchers in past decades variously and seems valuable in the present time era. The purpose of the present research is to examine the effect of positive stereotyping on intergenerational retention while organizational commitment plays mediating role in this relationship. Methodology: The sample consisted of 206 nurses from hospitals operating under the Punjab health department and the convenience sampling technique was used based on the cross-sectional design. The quantitative survey was conducted to assess the role of organizational commitment between positive stereotypes and workplace inter-generational retention. Findings: The results of the current study were analyzed on SMART PLS 3.2.2 software to predict reliability, assess the structural model, and hypothesized relationships between variables. Obtained results show that positive stereotyping has a significant direct effect on intergenerational retentions. Further organizational commitment significant positively mediates this relationship. Conclusion: Drawing upon generational cohort theory the research highlights the positive role of stereotyping among various generations at the workplace and recommends to the retention of educators is more positive stereotyping among various age group employee

Infants-feeding practices and their relationship with socio-economic and health conditions in Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Pakistan, has high infant mortality rate. Among every 1000 live births 0.76% becomes the victim of death due to malnutrition and fatal infections. Therefore, feeding modes and practices may serve as important factors for assessment of an infant's growth and nutritional status. This study was designed to assess the exclusive breast feeding rate, frequency of diseases during breast feeding, status of breast feeding along with weaning, level of education, occupation and socio-economic status of parents.Methods: In the descriptive and cross-sectional study, a total of one hundred (100) infants were included. The sampling technique was non-probability convenience sampling. This study was conducted at vaccination centers and children clinics in different hospitals in city of Lahore -Pakistan.Results: The results showed that 67% of the mothers exclusively breastfed their babies. 64% of the mothers had knowledge of exclusive breast feeding. The practice of breast feeding was found as 81% while artificial feeding was practiced among 19% of the mothers. Majority of the mothers started weaning their babies at the age 4 (31%) and 6 months (32%) whereas 28% mothers started after 6 months. 54% of mothers continued breastfeeding along with weaning. 72% of the mothers were aware of the importance of colostrum.Conclusion: Maternal education and women's employment have been found major determinants for breastfeeding. The result indicates that in Pakistan, mothers receive counseling on breast feeding which is quite satisfactory and feeding practices of infants are found as better in Pakistan

Diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic findings in patients with celiac disease

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic findings in patients with celiac disease, keeping histopathology as gold standard at Isra University Hospital Hyderabad. Methodology: This descriptive study was conducted at Gastroenterology department of Isra University Hospital, from June 2017 to December 2017. All the patients with age between 20-50 years as suspected cases of celiac disease and either of gender were included. Patients underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and if their duodenal folds showed any finding related to celiac disease, and then specimens for biopsies were taken. The entire specimens immediately were sent to the diagnostic laboratory for the histopathology. All the data was recorded in the predesigned Proforma and analyzed by SPSS version 20. Results: Total 112 patients of celiac disease were studied, most of the patients 73.2% were found with age group of 20-30 years. Abdominal distension was most common among 80.4%. Out of all 49.1% patients had disease duration 11-15 weeks. All patients had endoscopic findings suggestive of celiac disease. According to the histological findings regarding celiac disease, 78.6% had positive histological findings and 21.4% had negative histological findings. Diagnostic accuracy endoscopic sensitivity was 100% and specificity was 24%. Negative predictive value was 0% and positive predictive value was 78%. Conclusion: It was concluded that endoscopy showed 100% sensitivity in the diagnosis of celiac disease by taking histopathology as gold standard. It is a reliable safe and less complicated diagnostic tool for celiac diseas

Superadded Bacterial Infections in COVID–19 Patients; Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Association with Serological Markers

Objective: To determine the frequency and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of pathogens responsible for superadded bacterial infection in COVID-19 patients and correlate the association of these infections with serological markers. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of study: Department of Pathology, Combined Military Hospital, Multan Pakistan, from Jan to Dec 2021. Methodology: A total of 290 patients having positive RT-PCR for SARS CoV-2 were included. All samples were processed per Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) protocols. API 20E and API 20NE were used for the identification of Gramnegative rods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by the modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method.Serological markers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), total leucocyte count (TLC) and serum Ferritin, were determined and compared for significance in positive and negative culture cases. Results: A total of 75 patients had positive bacterial cultures. Among these, 42(56%) were blood culture, 26(35 %) were respiratory culture and 7(9%) were urine culture. Commonly isolated organisms were Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, i.e., 23(31%), 20(27%), 13(17%), and 12(16%) respectively. CRP, TLC and S. ferritin were markedly raised in superadded bacterial infection compared to patients with COVID-19 infection only. Conclusion: The frequency of superadded bacterial infections in COVID-19 patients is high. The pathogens isolated in these cases were multidrug-resistant, reflecting mostly hospital-acquired flora. The association of serological markers in depicting superadded infection is statistically significant and may be used to screen for superadded bacterial infection in COVID-19 patients

Self-Perceived Competence of New Dental Graduates in Pakistan – A Multi-institution Study

Objective: To investigate the self-perceived competence of house-officers from three dental institutions in Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Islamabad Dental Hospital, Fatima Memorial Dental Hospital and Islamic International Dental Hospital, from Jan to Dec 2018. Methodology: House-officers from three dental institutions were invited to participate in a cross-sectional study. A previously validated preparedness assessment scale was used to gauge the perceptions and experiences of the participants on a range of clinical, cognitive and affective skills. The results were compared to data from Dental Foundation Trainees in the UK. Results: In total 128 house-officers responded to the online questionnaire (18 participants were excluded due to missing data). All but four participants were in the 20-25 years age group (96.4%). The mean overall score of participants was 70/100 (SD ± 11.71). Self-perceived competence was reported to be low for clinical skills in radiography, crowns, cast-partial dentures and endodontics on multi-rooted teeth. Conclusions: This study investigated self-perceived competence amongst new graduates and provides information for comparison with data from Foundation Dentists in the UK. Pakistani House-Officers felt less prepared than Dental Foundation Trainees in 49/50 attributes. Several areas were identified where graduates from both countries may benefit from further education, training and consolidation. The findings may be of interest to dental educators and other stakeholders. Keywords: , ,

Impact of Virtual Reality Simulation in Endodontics on the Learning Experiences of Undergraduate Dental Students

Abstract: We aimed to evaluate the impact of Virtual Reality Dental Simulators (VRDS) on preclinical training in endodontics for undergraduate dental students. Purposive sampling technique was used to target undergraduate dental students at two dental schools: in Qatar and Turkey. After training on endodontic access cavity preparation on upper anterior teeth using acrylic teeth on dental mannequins and virtual reality haptic dental simulator, a questionnaire based on a combination of open- and closed-ended items was distributed to the participants. The sample included 60 dental undergraduate students. The participants reported positive experiences with VRDS and 76% considered it to be helpful in improving their fine motor skills. Endodontic access cavity preparation on VRDS was perceived to be similar to natural and acrylic teeth by 73.34% and 53% of participants, respectively. Overall, 85% of participants supported the use of VRDS training to supplement conventional training on dental mannequins but also recommended the need for improvements in VRDS training in endodontics. The findings of this study underscore the benefits of VRDS in endodontics. Future research involving larger samples from multiple institutions may help to optimize VRDS in undergraduate dental education

Community Based Assessment of Behavior and Awareness of Risk Factors of Cystic Echinococcosis in Major Cities of Pakistan: A One Health Perspective.

Background: The parasitic disease, cystic echinococcosis (CE), is a serious health problem in Pakistan. Risk of disease transmission is increased by economic and political instability, poor living conditions, and limited awareness of hygienic practices. The current study aimed to investigate the community perception and awareness regarding the risk factors of CE in Pakistan, from a One Health perspective. Methods: We conducted a community-based survey involving 454 participants in the major cities of Pakistan. Quantitative data based on knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP), the One Health concept, risk factors, and community perception of CE among the general population of the major cities of Pakistan were collected. The questions included those related to knowledge, attitude, practices, One Health concept, risk factors, and community perception. The Chi-squared test was applied to determine the associations regarding KAPs across socio-demographic parameters. Results: KAPs had no significant associations with sociodemographic aspects such as age, sex, religion, ethnicity, education, marital status, occupation, or financial status of the participants. The findings indicated a lack of awareness about CE among the participants. Respondents were unaware of the risk factors and the One Health concept of CE. However, the community attitude and perception were positive toward the control of CE. Conclusion: Illiteracy, deficient sanitation systems and lack of awareness are the contributing factors to CE in Pakistan. It is necessary to make the community aware regarding CE and its importance. Increasing this awareness represents an important step toward the eradication and control of CE

Health worker and patient views on implementation of smoking cessation in routine tuberculosis care

Böckmann M, Warsi S, Noor M, et al. Health worker and patient views on implementation of smoking cessation in routine tuberculosis care. NPJ primary care respiratory medicine. 2019;29(1): 34.Smoking worsens tuberculosis (TB) outcomes. Persons with TB who smoke can benefit from smoking cessation. We report findings of a multi-country qualitative process evaluation assessing barriers and facilitators to implementation of smoking cessation behaviour support in TB clinics in Bangladesh and Pakistan. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews at five case study clinics with 35 patients and 8 health workers over a period of 11 months (2017-2018) at different time points during the intervention implementation phase. Interviews were conducted by trained researchers in the native languages, audio-recorded, transcribed into English and analysed using a combined deductive-inductive approach guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and Theoretical Domains Framework. All patients report willingness to quit smoking and recent quit attempts. Individuals' main motivations to quit are their health and the need to financially provide for a family. Behavioural regulation such as avoiding exposure to cigarettes and social influences from friends, family and colleagues are main themes of the interviews. Most male patients do not feel shy admitting to smoking, for the sole female patient interviewee stigma was an issue. Health workers report structural characteristics such as high workload and limited time per patient as primary barriers to offering behavioural support. Self-efficacy to discuss tobacco use with women varies by health worker. Systemic barriers to implementation such as staff workload and socio-cultural barriers to cessation like gender relations, stigma or social influences should be dealt with creatively to optimize the behaviour support for sustainability and scale-up