Embodied fear, perceived safety and transit-based mobility among women of color in Metro Vancouver

This study presents the stories shared by five students at Simon Fraser University who identify as women of color, regarding their fear of harassment or violence and perceptions of safety while navigating public transit systems in Metro Vancouver. Using qualitative methods and the Body Map Storytelling exercise, this study examines how female bodies of color encounter unique threats to their safety in transit spaces due to social prejudices and the impacts of such threats upon their decisions regarding public transit usage. These stories provide an understanding about how women of color navigating public transit systems in Metro Vancouver encounter obstructions to mobility justice in their day-to-day commutes. This study advocates the use of mobility justice frameworks and alternative research methods to understand the urban mobilities of women of color in Metro Vancouver and promotes intersectional, feminist approaches to the planning and implementation of transportation strategies in urban regions in Canada

Infertility-related Stress and Marital Satisfaction among Pakistani Infertile Individuals

Infertility is a reproductive health problem that is widely researched with reference to numerous psychological concerns faced by infertile individuals. Childless couples face numerous personal and social consequences with every passing day. Among them, immediate family members' expectations to carry on the family’s name significantly weigh down marital union in the form of marital dissatisfaction among infertile individuals. Therefore, the relationship between stress related to infertility and its impact on the marital union, individuals (N = 150) of 18-40 years (M = 29.19, SD = 5.59) were taken from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Attock. The sample was approached at infertility centers, hospitals, offices, and their homes using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) and ENRICH Marital Satisfaction (EMS) Scale was administered on the sample. The results established satisfactory Cronbach alpha reliabilities (α = .63 to α = .93) for all scales. Hypotheses testing revealed that stress due to infertility negatively affects the marital satisfaction of infertile individuals and accounted for a 7% variance. Lastly, non-significant gender differences were observed across the variables of the study. These findings would be helpful in understanding the dynamics of stress, faced by childless individuals and would be beneficial in the investigation of cultural buffering factors. Non-significant gender differences across infertility-related stress further highlight the significance of devising and providing intervention-based programs and therapies for both men and women to cope with the stress and strengthen the marital union of infertile individuals

Online cross-project prediction of defect-inducing software changes

Just-In-Time Software Defect Prediction (JIT-SDP) is concerned with predicting whether software changes are defect-inducing or clean, based on machine learning classifiers. JIT-SDP operates in an online scenario where training examples are continuously received over time, necessitating the updating of the JIT-SDP models with the new data. Building JIT-SDP models require a sufficient amount of training data that is not available at the beginning of a software project. Cross-Project (CP) JIT-SDP can address the problem of a lack of training data required for JIT-SDP models to perform effectively at the beginning of the projects. However, such approaches have never been investigated in realistic online learning scenario where the JIT-SDP models need to update with both incoming Cross-Project (CP) and Within-Project (WP) software changes over time. Since there are no online CP JIT-SDP approach available, it is unknown how useful CP data can be in this circumstance. In particular, it’s unclear whether CP data are just valuable in the project’s early stages, when there aren’t many WP data, or if they might be beneficial for an extended period of time. Besides, based on the model’s learning process, many existing JIT-SDP studies used ensemble learners that consisted of either offline or online base models. It is unknown whether adapting offline models to operate in an online scenario can provide advantages over online models and whether such advantages would reflect on CP learning. Most machine learning models are also sensitive to hyper-parameter choice and may underperform if hyperparameters are not configured properly. Tuning methods used for offline learning are not suitable for online learning because in online learning, the best hyper-parameter choice may change over time. It is unknown whether the best hyper-parameter configuration changes over time for online JIT-SDP. If it does, then an online hyper-parameter tuning approach for JIT-SDP would be essential to improve its predictive performance. This thesis aims to address the aforementioned issues in JIT-SDP. We conduct the first investigation of when and to what extent CP data is helpful for JIT-SDP in a realistic online scenario. For that, we propose three novel online CP JIT-SDP approaches, which can be updated to take into account incoming CP and WP training examples. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the predictive performance and computational costs of online and offline learning models in online CP JIT-SDP scenario. Furthermore, we provide an online hyper-parameter tuning method for online JIT-SDP that can recommend the best hyper-parameter choices over time

COVID-19 pandemic & skin care guidelines for health care professionals

The Novel corona virus is bringing multiple challenges for health care professionals. Skin is the biggest organ and the first line of defense against different infections and external factors. Being the front line warriors, health care professionals are susceptible to various skin conditions due to prolonged use of personal protective equipment. These adverse skin conditions are redness, irritation, itching, contact dermatitis, and aggravation of underlying skin conditions like seborrheic dermatitis and acne vulgaris. In the current global situation, the potential incidence of such adverse dermatological effects does not in any manner cause the HCPs to deviate from the strict specific precautionary hygiene rules. These skin problems are manageable with the few precautionary measures. This article explores the different skin conditions that result from personal hygiene measures and usage of protective gear and will suggest some practical advice about how to manage and protect from these different adverse skin conditions

Comparison of the depth of cure of flowable composites polymerized at variable increment thicknesses and voltages: An In vitro study

Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare the depth of cure of two composite materials (SDR and Filtek bulk-fill) cured at variable increment depths (2, 4, and 6 mm) and voltages (180 and 220 volts). Materials and Methods: Each sample of the composite material was packed in a mold of 2 mm, 4 mm, and 6 mm and curing light (quartz tungsten halogen) of optimal intensity was exposed for 20 s at 2 different voltages on each specimen. After curing, the specimens were removed and the composite on the nonexposed end was scraped with a plastic instrument. The remaining composite thickness was measured using a digital Vernier caliper. The reading was divided by half to follow the ISO 4049 method. Independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and linear regression analysis were applied. Level of significance was kept at 0.01. Results: The mean DOC of SDR and Filtek were 1.93 ± 0.82 and 1.77 ± 0.65 mm. Lowering the voltage from 220 to 180 volts reduced the depth of Filtek from 1.87 ± 0.74 to 1.67 ± 0.54 mm, whereas the DOC of SDR remained unchanged at 1.93 mm at the two voltages. The adjusted R2 for the depth of cure was 0.93 when the increment thickness, voltage, and restorative material were taken together in the regression model. Conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference between SDR and Filtek for the depth of cure at 2 and 4 mm increments. However, at 6 mm increment, the SDR cured significantly deeper than the Filtek. Around 91% variation in the depth of cure of these composites materials is explained by increment thickness alone

Impact of acne on quality of life in young Pakistani adults and its relationship with severity: A multicenter study

Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the effect of acne vulgaris on quality of life of young adults and to assess the correlation between acne severity and impairment of quality of life (QOLI).Methods: In this multi-center cross-sectional study, 163 young adults with acne vulgaris were assessed for severity and quality of life impairment between December 2016 and May 2017 at three tertiary care hospitals. Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) was used to assess the quality of life while the severity of acne measured by Global Acne Grading System (GAGS). Data were collected on standardized forms, with CADI, GAGS scores, and sociodemographic data and analyzed using SPSS version 9. The quantitative variables were presented as means, median and qualitative variables expressed as frequency and percentages. P-value ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Out of 163 patients enrolled in this study, the mean age was 21.6 ± 4.9 years and 124 were females and 39 males. In mild QOLI, 56 (87.5%) cases were affected with mild, 11 (13.4%) with moderate and 1 (1.5%) case had severe acne. While, in moderate QOLI, 8(12.5%) cases were of mild, 60 (73.2%) were moderate and 6 (35.3%) cases affected with severe acne. The severe impairment of QOL noted in 11 (13.4%) moderate and 10 (58.8%) severe acne cases. The relationship between sex was statistically significant, (P\u3c0.001). The result showed significant correlation between severity of acne vulgaris and the quality of life impairment of these patients (P\u3c0.001).Conclusion: This study showed significant correlation between acne vulgaris and quality of life impairment. Cardiff acne disability index has proven to be a reliable tool to assess the quality of life. It is recommended to be used routinely in dermatology clinics to provide tailored treatment to individuals because mild disease may be disproportionately distressing for patients

Frequency of depression and anxiety among patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria visiting a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To determine the frequency of anxiety and depression among chronic spontaneous urticarial patients presenting at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: The prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from February to August 2015, and comprised patients diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria at the dermatology clinic. All the participants were assessed for anxiety and depression using Aga Khan University-Anxiety Depression Scale. Data was collected in face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. The association of the condition with different characteristics were calculated after stratification for age, gender, occupation and monthly income. SPSS 19 was used for data analysis..Results: Of the 146 study participants, 84(57.5%) were males and 62(42.5%) were females. The overall mean age was 39±15.6 years. Of the total, 39(26.7%) had depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety were more frequent among patients with a positive family history of mental disorders (p=0.02).Conclusion: Anxiety and depression were found to be considerably common among chronic spontaneous urticaria patients, with patients having a positive family history for mental illnesses particularly vulnerable

Influence of online sensory branding experiences on brand loyalty in South Africa

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence online purchase intention in the context of Bangladesh, specifically focusing on the relationship between eWOM, Website Quality, Promotional Activities, Trust, Security, and online purchase intention. Convenience sampling method was employed to gather data from 260 participants through online and offline surveys between January and February 2023. The study employed different statistical methods to analyze research data including Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s Alpha, and Multiple Regression analysis. The results indicate that eWOM, Website Quality, Promotional Activities, and Trust have a significant impact on online purchase intention. Interestingly, security was not found to be a significant factor in determining online purchase intention. These findings contribute to online marketers’ knowledge of the factors that influence customers’ intention to buy products and services from online platforms and can assist them in developing value-driven online marketing strategies

Study of Postdatism with Respect to Fetomaternal Outcome at A Tertiary Care Hospital

OBJECTIVES This study aims to know our setup’s fetomaternal pregnancy complications that extend beyond 40 weeks of gestation. METHODOLOGY This is a prospective cross-sectional study of 390 patients with uncomplicated postdated pregnancies fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria admitted to the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (both in spontaneous labour and induced patient) at Hayatabad Medical Complex, a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, KPK from July 2020 to June 2021.RESULTS Out of 390 patients, a majority (72.30 %) were in the age group of 20 – 35 years. Most of them (50.51%) presented at gestation 40+1 – 40+6 weeks. The majority (57.69%) were multigravida, and most (93.07%) were un-booked. Most delivered vaginally (80.51%), and 19.48% had C/section (including both emergency and elective). The most common indication for C/section was fetal distress (44.73%), followed by C/section on demand (18.42%). The majority>90% had Apgar score greater than seven at 5 minutes which was gestation dependent. Overall perinatal mortality was 4.07% which was also gestation dependent ranging from 0.5% at 40+1 – 40+6 weeks to 2.30% at and beyond 42 weeks of gestation. Neonatal morbidity in the form of Birth asphyxia, Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (MAS), Shoulder Dystocia and NICU admission also showed an increasing tendency with increasing gestation beyond 40 weeks. Maternal morbidity in the form of PPH, perineal tears 3°/4° and endometritis also showed a similar increasing trend with increasing gestation beyond 40 weeks. CONCLUSION Pregnancy continuing beyond 40 weeks has a definite risk to the fetus.

Prevalence of clinical spectrum of cutaneous adverse drug reactions in patients presenting at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

Introduction: Cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADRs) are the most common adverse drug reactions reported in the literature. CADRs have resulted in disabling infirmities during hospitalization and complications following outdoor drug therapy. The pattern of CADRs and the responsible drugs usually changes with the introduction of newer drugs and evolving clinical practices. Moreover, several international studies showed variable prevalence, emphasizing the need for local data in light of different socioeconomic and demographic practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of adverse cutaneous drug reactions and identify the clinical spectrum and any potential risk factors.Methodology: The current study is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan. One hundred ninety-three patients who met the study inclusion criteria were included. Data were collected from patients on a proforma after taking informed consent. Quantitative data were presented as simple descriptive statistics giving mean and standard deviation, while qualitative variables were presented as frequency and percentages. Effect modifiers were controlled through stratification to highlight the effect of these on the outcome variable. The post-stratification chi-square test was applied and the p-value of ≤0.05 was statistically significant.Results: A total of 193 patients who had cutaneous adverse drug reactions were included in the study. The mean age in this study was 47.78±8.33 years. One hundred eight (56%) were male and 85 (44%) were female. Out of 193 patients, 135 (69.9%), 50 (25.9%), 24 (12.4%), 12 (6.2%), 20 (10.4%), 11 (5.7%) and six (3.1%) had maculopapular rash, acneiform eruptions, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiform, urticaria, fixed drug eruptions and toxic epidermal necrolysis, respectively.Conclusion: CADRs are a common clinical presentation and awareness and knowledge about their diagnosis and prevention is important. It can be assumed that in our local setup, the clinical trends and medications causing ADRs are strikingly similar to those found in other countries. Physicians commonly come across these cases and they should be well aware of the clinical spectrum of skin reactions to enable early diagnosis and management