Use of ICT in Collection Management of Public Libraries in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract Objectives of the study: This study is about the assessing of use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) in Collection Management (CM) of Public Libraries in Punjab (PLsP), Pakistan. Research Design:The study was conducted in seventeen PLsP. Target population was the Head Librarians(HLs) of the selected PLsP. Data regarding current status of ICT apparatus, IT staff, available ICT resources and usage of ICT in CM was collected from the concerned HLs through a comprehensive questionnaire. The questionnaire having mostly closed ended questions was constructed in the light of extensive literature review. The data collected from HLs was analyzed and interpreted manually. Key Findings: Present status of ICT apparatus, IT staff & available ICT resources like internet in PLs was found unsatisfactory and lack of IT professionals & skilled IT staff was note over there. The respondents found convinced about the importance of ICT in CM. Status of usage of ICT in CM was found poor. Absence of required ICT related staff training was also noted. Scarcity of needed funds for ICT and interrupted power supply were found as the pressing issues in PLsP. Practical Implication: PLsP were recommended to develop their ICT apparatus, ensure qualified IT staff, and enrich their available ICT resources to improve their status of usage of ICT in CM. ICT training of staff, availability of needed funds and arrangements for uninterrupted power supply were also recommended

A comparative study of efficacy of oral pregabalin and clonidine for attenuation of pressor response to intubation

Background: Endotracheal intubation is associated with hemodynamic stress responses. Various drugs have been used in the past to attenuate the pressor response; however, none has been proved to be ideal. Present study was planned to evaluate the oral pregabalin 150 mg and clonidine 200 µg for attenuation of pressor response to intubation.Methods: The study was conducted on 100 adult patients of either gender scheduled to undergo elective surgeries under general anaesthesia (GA). The patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups. In group A patients received pregabalin 150mg and in group B patients received clonidine 200µg orally. The hemodynamic parameters were recorded until 10 minutes after intubation. The sedation, anxiety and side effects were also assessed.Results: In clonidine group, the mean HR remained below the baseline value at all the time intervals. In pregabalin group, the mean HR remained below the baseline value at most of the time intervals but increased above baseline just after intubation (T0i) and 1 minute after intubation (T1i) where increase was only 1.488±1.20% and 0.45±1.16% respectively from baseline. In both pregabalin and clonidine groups, the mean SBP and MAP remained below the baseline value (Tb) at all the time intervals from T0.5 to T10i. Both clonidine and pregabalin provided adequate anxiolysis and sedation with pregabalin providing more pronounced sedation and anxiolysis than clonidine.Conclusions: Both clonidine and pregabalin are effective oral premedication drugs for attenuation of the pressor response to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation.

Candidate approaches and challenges

Funding Information: The development of this paper, its open access, assembly, and meetings of the Calcium Task Force were supported by funding from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to the Nutrition Science Program of the New York Academy of Sciences. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences.Inadequate dietary calcium intake is a global public health problem that disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries. However, the calcium status of a population is challenging to measure, and there are no standard methods to identify high-risk communities even in settings with an elevated prevalence of a disease caused or exacerbated by low calcium intake (e.g., rickets). The calcium status of a population depends on numerous factors, including intake of calcium-rich foods; the bioavailability of the types of calcium consumed in foods and supplements; and population characteristics, including age, sex, vitamin D status, and genetic attributes that influence calcium retention and absorption. The aim of this narrative review was to assess candidate indicators of population-level calcium status based on a range of biomarkers and measurement methods, including dietary assessment, calcium balance studies, hormonal factors related to calcium, and health outcomes associated with low calcium status. Several promising approaches were identified, but there was insufficient evidence of the suitability of any single indicator to assess population calcium status. Further research is required to develop and validate specific indicators of calcium status that could be derived from the analysis of data or samples that are feasibly collected in population-based surveys.publishersversionpublishe

prevalence of inadequate intakes and associated health outcomes

© 2022 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences.Dietary calcium deficiency is considered to be widespread globally, with published estimates suggesting that approximately half of the world's population has inadequate access to dietary calcium. Calcium is essential for bone health, but inadequate intakes have also been linked to other health outcomes, including pregnancy complications, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are at greatest risk of low calcium intakes, although many individuals in high-income countries (HICs) also do not meet recommendations. Paradoxically, many LMICs with lower calcium intakes show lower rates of osteoporotic fracture as compared with HICs, though data are sparse. Calcium intake recommendations vary across agencies and may need to be customized based on other dietary factors, health-related behaviors, or the risk of calcium-related health outcomes. The lack of standard methods to assess the calcium status of an individual or population has challenged efforts to estimate the prevalence of calcium deficiency and the global burden of related adverse health consequences. This paper aims to consolidate available evidence related to the global prevalence of inadequate calcium intakes and associated health outcomes, with the goal of providing a foundation for developing policies and population-level interventions to safely improve calcium intake and status where necessary.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Consumer Adoption of Self-Service Technologies in the Context of the Jordanian Banking Industry: Examining the Moderating Role of Channel Types

YesThis study aimed to examine the key factors predicting Jordanian consumers’ intentions and usage of three types of self-service banking technologies. This study also sought to test if the impacts of these main predictors could be moderated by channel type. This study proposed a conceptual model by integrating factors from the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), along with perceived risk. The required data were collected from a convenience sample of Jordanian banking customers using a survey questionnaire. The statistical results strongly support the significant influence of performance expectancy, social influence, and perceived risk on customer intentions for the three types of SSTs examined. The results of the X2 differences test also indicate that there are significant differences in the influence of the main predictors due to the moderating effect of channel type. One of the key contributions of this study is that three types of SSTs were tested in a single study, which had not been done before, leading to the identification of the factors common to all three types, as well as the salient factors unique to each type

Common variants in CLDN2 and MORC4 genes confer disease susceptibility in patients with chronic pancreatitis

A recent Genome-wide Association Study (GWAS) identified association with variants in X-linked CLDN2 and MORC4 and PRSS1-PRSS2 loci with Chronic Pancreatitis (CP) in North American patients of European ancestry. We selected 9 variants from the reported GWAS and replicated the association with CP in Indian patients by genotyping 1807 unrelated Indians of Indo-European ethnicity, including 519 patients with CP and 1288 controls. The etiology of CP was idiopathic in 83.62% and alcoholic in 16.38% of 519 patients. Our study confirmed a significant association of 2 variants in CLDN2 gene (rs4409525—OR 1.71, P = 1.38 x 10-09; rs12008279—OR 1.56, P = 1.53 x 10-04) and 2 variants in MORC4 gene (rs12688220—OR 1.72, P = 9.20 x 10-09; rs6622126—OR 1.75, P = 4.04x10-05) in Indian patients with CP. We also found significant association at PRSS1-PRSS2 locus (OR 0.60; P = 9.92 x 10-06) and SAMD12-TNFRSF11B (OR 0.49, 95% CI [0.31–0.78], P = 0.0027). A variant in the gene MORC4 (rs12688220) showed significant interaction with alcohol (OR for homozygous and heterozygous risk allele -14.62 and 1.51 respectively, P = 0.0068) suggesting gene-environment interaction. A combined analysis of the genes CLDN2 and MORC4 based on an effective risk allele score revealed a higher percentage of individuals homozygous for the risk allele in CP cases with 5.09 fold enhanced risk in individuals with 7 or more effective risk alleles compared with individuals with 3 or less risk alleles (P = 1.88 x 10-14). Genetic variants in CLDN2 and MORC4 genes were associated with CP in Indian patients

Impact of internet of things (IoT) in disaster management: a task-technology fit perspective

YesDisaster management aims to mitigate the potential damage from the disasters, ensure immediate and suitable assistance to the victims, and attain effective and rapid recovery. These objectives require a planned and effective rescue operation post such disasters. Different types of information about the impact of the disaster are, hence, required for planning an effective and immediate relief operation. The IoT technology available today is quite mature and has the potential to be very useful in disaster situations. This paper analyzes the requirements for planning rescue operation for such natural disasters and proposes an IoT based solution to cater the identified requirements. The proposed solution is further validated using the task-technology fit (TTF) approach for analyzing the significance of the adoption of IoT technology for disaster management. Results from the exploratory study established the core dimensions of the task requirements and the TTF constructs. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis using PLS path modelling, further, suggest that both task requirements and IoT technology have significant impact on the IoT TTF in the disaster management scenario. This paper makes significant contributions in the development of appropriate constructs for modeling TTF for IoT Technology in the context of disaster management

Use of ICT in Collection Management of Public Libraries in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract Objectives of the study: This study is about the assessing of use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) in Collection Management (CM) of Public Libraries in Punjab (PLsP), Pakistan. Research Design:The study was conducted in seventeen PLsP. Target population was the Head Librarians(HLs) of the selected PLsP. Data regarding current status of ICT apparatus, IT staff, available ICT resources and usage of ICT in CM was collected from the concerned HLs through a comprehensive questionnaire. The questionnaire having mostly closed ended questions was constructed in the light of extensive literature review. The data collected from HLs was analyzed and interpreted manually. Key Findings: Present status of ICT apparatus, IT staff & available ICT resources like internet in PLs was found unsatisfactory and lack of IT professionals & skilled IT staff was note over there. The respondents found convinced about the importance of ICT in CM. Status of usage of ICT in CM was found poor. Absence of required ICT related staff training was also noted. Scarcity of needed funds for ICT and interrupted power supply were found as the pressing issues in PLsP. Practical Implication: PLsP were recommended to develop their ICT apparatus, ensure qualified IT staff, and enrich their available ICT resources to improve their status of usage of ICT in CM. ICT training of staff, availability of needed funds and arrangements for uninterrupted power supply were also recommended

Assessment of Thermal Discomfort Variation in Fiji’s Major Urban Centers

Thermal discomfort and heat stress have become common concerns, especially in an urbanized environment. This work investigates the changes in thermal comfort of Fiji’s urban centers. The analysis is based on Thom’s discomfort index (DI), calculated from observed temperature and humidity data during 1985–2019. Discomfort is highest in austral summer (November – April) and lowest in winter (June – August). Discomfort increased from the late 1990s to 2000s. Given that the urban centers under this study are still expanding, the level of discomfort is expected to worsen. The observed thermal comfort condition is likely to have an adverse impact on the urban population, especially the elderly people. In addition, a higher DI is likely to affect the country’s tourism industry. Proper building designs and increase in the country’s vegetation covers are practical and effective measures to manage the discomfort. There remains a need for instantaneous change in DI studies, monitoring its changes using high-resolution datasets, and to assessing the people’s actual thermal feeling based on a survey

Efficacy of Urine Dipstick Test in Diagnosing Urinary Tract Infection and Detection of the blaCTX-M Gene among ESBL-Producing Escherichia coli

A urine dipstick test used for prompt diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) is a rapid and cost-effective method. The main objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of the urine dipstick test with culture methods in screening for UTIs along with the detection of the blaCTX-M gene in extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli. A total of 217 mid-stream urine samples were collected from UTI-suspected patients attending Bharatpur Hospital, Chitwan, and tested by dipstick test strip (COMBI-10SL, Germany) prior to the culture. E. coli isolates were identified by standard microbiological procedures and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method following CLSI guideline. Primary screening of ESBL-producing E. coli isolates was conducted using ceftriaxone, cefotaxime and ceftazidime discs and phenotypically confirmed by combined disk diffusion test. Plasmid DNA of ESBL-producing strains was extracted by phenol-chloroform method and subjected to PCR for detection of the blaCTX-M gene. Out of 217 urine samples, 48 (22.12%) showed significant bacteriuria. Among 46 (21.20%) Gram negative bacteria recovered, the predominant one was E. coli 37 (77.08%) of which 33 (89.19%) were multidrug resistant (MDR). E. coli isolates showed a higher degree of resistance towards cefazolin (62.16%) while 81.08% of the isolates were sensitive towards amikacin followed by nitrofurantoin (70.27%). Among 14 (37.84%) phenotypically confirmed ESBL isolates, only eight (21.62%) isolates carried the blaCTX-M gene. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of urine dipstick test were 43.75%, 77.51%, 35.59% and 82.91%, respectively. Besides, the use of dipstick test strip for screening UTI was associated with many false positive and negative results as compared to the gold standard culture method. Hence, dipstick nitrite test alone should not be used as sole method for screening UTIs