A qualitative exploration of the health awareness and social challenges facing Pakistani youth engaging in body piercing and tattooing

Background: The practice of body piercing and tattooing in youth is increasing inPakistan, and there is fear that awareness of the associated health risks is low. The aim ofthis study is to try and understand: (i) youth awareness of health risks associated withbody piercing and tattooing, and (ii) the social challenges facing youth who engage insuch practices, which might also impact their health and wellbeing. The findings areaimed to inform improved health and social policy support for population groupsengaging in body modification. Methods: Scholars agree that qualitative research is vitalto explore health challenges and guide health policy. This study adopted a qualitativedesign and used purposive snowball sampling technique. A semi-structured questionnairewas developed through a literature review. Setting: Participants were sampled in a privateand confidential space on university campus or online, based on willingness andconvenience. Participants: Eight university students from different urban cities of Punjabwere sampled through in-depth interviews. Findings: Sixteen sub-themes were identifiedunder five main thematic areas, including: 1) Limited Awareness of Health Risks; 2)Reason for body modifications; 3) History of emotional and physical neglect by parents;4) Social difficulties faced after body modification; and 5) Association with other deviantactivities. Conclusion: The youth of Pakistan need health and social interventions toimprove preventive and screening support from practitioners, family-level counseling forimproved social support, therapy for mental health, and surveillance and support forsuicide ideation, intoxicant abuse, addiction, dealing with parental neglect, and identityformation

Strategizing the role of Islam for Pakistan: An analysis of the shifting perspectives of Pakistan

The ideological debate between conservatives and modernists remains a central issue in Pakistan since its inception. This study arguing that the military rulers tend to keep strategic interest of the country in mind while taking position in the ideological debate between conservatives and modernists. This study traces the history of military regimes in Pakistan and their role in shaping ideology of Pakistan. This current longitudinal study aims to analyze the role and position of military rulers of Pakistan on the debate of Islam and modernity. This study is descriptive, historical and follows the longitudinal analysis to examine the data

Can galvanic skin conductance be used as an objective indicator of children?s anxiety in the dental setting?

Assessment of procedural distress is essential at assisting children during invasive dental treatments. This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of galvanic skin response as a measure for assessment of dental anxiety in children. 151 children, aged 5-7 years, participated in this study. Similar dental treatments were rendered to all subjects. At the beginning and end of the session, modified child dental anxiety scale (MCDAS), clinical anxiety rating scale (CARS) and galvanic skin response (GSR) were used to determine children?s anxiety. GSR was significantly correlated with both MCDAS (rs=0.62, p=0.02) and CARS (rs=0.44, p=0.032). The correlation between MCDAS and CARS was also significant (rs = 0.9, P<0.001). Anxiety decreased during the session in both GSR (rs=0.52, p=0.001) and MCDAS scales (rs=0.77, p=0.001). CARS also showed a reduction between the initial and second assessment, but it was not statistically significant (rs=0.12, P=0.36). The findings suggest that GSR is a reliable and valid measure for assessment of children?s dental anxiety in the clinical context. GSR may help to identify clinically anxious children before dental treatment to provide appropriate interventions

Ectopic Acromegaly Secondary to Bronchial Tumor; a Case Report of Rare Occurrence.

Introduction: Acromegaly is caused due to the unregulated and sustained overproduction of growth hormone (GH). The majority of the cases are caused by autonomous secretion of GH from anterior pituitary tumors. Nonetheless, in less than 1 % of the cases, the cause of autonomous secretion is secondary to ectopic growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) production. Bronchial carcinoids are the most common cause of ectopic GHRH production. Case description: &nbsp;A 32-year-old female presented to the clinic with a history of cough, hemoptysis, and undocumented weight loss for four years. Initial workup showed a large right main stem endobronchial mass. Transbronchial biopsy of the mass revealed a grade I neuroendocrine tumor (NET). During NET workup, a large sellar mass was incidentally found on cross-sectional imaging. The hormonal profile revealed markedly elevated insulin-like growth factor -1 (IGF-1) and mildly raised prolactin. The MRI Brain study revealed pituitary macroadenoma measuring 2 cm x 1.2 cm x 1.5 cm. The patient underwent bronchial carcinoid tumor resection, which led to normalization of serum IGF-1 and growth hormone response to an oral glucose tolerance test. Subsequent MRI brain revealed complete resolution of previously noted sellar mass.&nbsp;Practical implications:&nbsp; This case highlights the importance of differentiating acromegaly secondary to pituitary adenoma and ectopic acromegaly. This case emphasizes the importance of keeping rare entities in the differential while assessing patients with pituitary macroadenoma

The Effect of Drivers\u27 Demographic Characteristics on Road Accidents in Different Seasons Using Data Mining

According to World Health Organization, each year, over 1.2 million people die on roads, and between 20 and 50 million suffer non-fatal injuries. Based on international reports, Iran has a high death rate caused by road accidents. The objective of this study was to extract implicit knowledge from road accident data sets on roads of Iran through data mining. In this regard, three useful data mining techniques were combined: clustering, classification and rule extraction. Following the preparation stage, data were segmented via three clustering algorithms; Kohonen, K-Means and Twostep. Two-step cluster analysis is a one-pass-through data approach which generates a fairly large number of pre-clusters. Next, the optimized algorithm and cluster were identified, after which, in the classification level and by adding the drivers\u27 demographic features through C5.0, a classification algorithm was employed so as to make the decision tree. Ultimately, the effects of these demographic features were investigated on road accidents. The characteristics such as age, job, driving license duration and gender proved to be more important factors in accident analysis. Certain rules of accidents were then extracted in each season of the year.</p

The association between dietary antioxidant quality score and intensity and frequency of migraine headaches among women: a cross-sectional study

Background: Migraine is an episodic disorder and a frequent form of headache. An impaired balance between free radical production and an impaired antioxidant defense system leading to oxidative damage may play a major role in migraine etiology. We sought to investigate whether dietary antioxidant quality score (DAQS) is associated with migraine intensity and frequency among women suffering from migraine. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 women. The data related to anthropometric measures and dietary intake were collected. DAQS score was calculated based on FFQ (food frequency questionnaire) vs. the reference daily intake (RDI) quantity. To measure migraine intensity, the migraine disability assessment questionnaire (MIDAS) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used. The frequency of headaches was defined as the days the participants had headaches in the last month and a 30-day headache diary was used. Results: The results of the study demonstrated that VAS, MIDAS, and frequency of headaches were reduced significantly from the low DAQS (poor quality of antioxidants) to high DAQS (high quality of antioxidants) after adjusting covariates. Also, multinomial regression showed there was an inverse association between higher DAQS and the frequency of headaches. In the adjusted model, subjects with the higher DAQS were 69% less likely to have moderate migraine disability, compared with those with the lower DAQS. Linear regression showed, there was an inverse association between vitamin C intake and the grades of pain severity.َAlso in a crude model, a negative association was found between vitamin E and the frequency of headaches. Conclusion: In conclusion, Participants with higher DAQS had lower migraine intensity and headache frequency. In addition, the consumption of vitamin C may potentially associate with decreasing the severity of headaches. Dietary antioxidants should be monitored closely in individuals suffering from migraine

Factors Predicting the Recurrence of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Patients with Cirrhosis

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of recurrence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in patients with end stage liver disease and the factors responsible for it. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from November 2008 till November 2009. Methodology: Patients with cirrhosis who were admitted at AKUH with diagnosis of SBP during the study period were included. Any episode of SBP after resolution of the first index case of SBP within one year was considered as recurrence. Results: Out of 238 cirrhotic patients, 157 (66%) had single, while 81 (34%) had recurrent episodes of SBP. History of using proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and diuretics was found in 113 (47.5%) and 139 (58.4%) patients respectively. Only 58 (24.4%) patients were on prophylactic antibiotic therapy. Univariate analysis revealed that the female gender (52%), and presence of porto-systemic encephalopathy (PSE, 31%) were statistically significant (p=0.03) among those who had recurrent SBP. On multivariate analysis bilirubin level of \u3e 1.0 mg (OR=7.03; 95%CI=1.55-32), protective factor of hepatitis B (OR 0.31; 95%CI=0.13-0.70) and presence of urinary tract infection (UTI) (OR=2.24; 95%CI=0.99-5.09) were significant in patients with recurrent SBP. Conclusion: Recurrent SBP was noticed in 34% patients. Serum bilirubin level of \u3e 1.0 mg, protective factor of HBV and presence of UTI were significant factors present in patients with recurrent SBP

Reinforcement of Calcium Phosphate Cement with Hybrid Silk Fibroin/Kappa-Carrageenan Nanofibers

Calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) offer a promising solution for treating bone defects due to their osteoconductive, injectable, biocompatible, and bone replacement properties. However, their brittle nature restricts their utilization to non-load-bearing applications. In this study, the impact of hybrid silk fibroin (SF) and kappa-carrageenan (k-CG) nanofibers as reinforcements in CPC was investigated. The CPC composite was fabricated by incorporating electrospun nanofibers in 1, 3, and 5% volume fractions. The morphology, mineralization, mechanical properties, setting time, injectability, cell adhesion, and mineralization of the CPC composites were analyzed. The results demonstrated that the addition of the nanofibers improved the CPC mixture, leading to an increase in compressive strength (14.8 ± 0.3 MPa compared to 8.1 ± 0.4 MPa of the unreinforced CPC). Similar improvements were seen in the bending strength and work fracture (WOF). The MC3T3-E1 cell culture experiments indicated that cells attached well to the surfaces of all cement samples and tended to join their adjacent cells. Additionally, the CPC composites showed higher cell mineralization after a culture period of 14 days, indicating that the SF/k-CG combination has potential for applications as a CPC reinforcement and bone cell regeneration promoter

Reinforcement of Calcium Phosphate Cement with Hybrid Silk Fibroin/Kappa-Carrageenan Nanofibers

Calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) offer a promising solution for treating bone defects due to their osteoconductive, injectable, biocompatible, and bone replacement properties. However, their brittle nature restricts their utilization to non-load-bearing applications. In this study, the impact of hybrid silk fibroin (SF) and kappa-carrageenan (k-CG) nanofibers as reinforcements in CPC was investigated. The CPC composite was fabricated by incorporating electrospun nanofibers in 1, 3, and 5% volume fractions. The morphology, mineralization, mechanical properties, setting time, injectability, cell adhesion, and mineralization of the CPC composites were analyzed. The results demonstrated that the addition of the nanofibers improved the CPC mixture, leading to an increase in compressive strength (14.8 ± 0.3 MPa compared to 8.1 ± 0.4 MPa of the unreinforced CPC). Similar improvements were seen in the bending strength and work fracture (WOF). The MC3T3-E1 cell culture experiments indicated that cells attached well to the surfaces of all cement samples and tended to join their adjacent cells. Additionally, the CPC composites showed higher cell mineralization after a culture period of 14 days, indicating that the SF/k-CG combination has potential for applications as a CPC reinforcement and bone cell regeneration promoter.This research was funded by the Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC, Iran), Grant Number 781398057

Development of heavy metal passivators in residue fluid catalytic cracking process

The advancement of residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) is significantly influenced by the development of heavy metals passivation technology. Resids often include larger concentrations of heavy metals (Ni, V, and Fe) than gas oils, primarily in the form of porphyrin complexes and salts of organic acids. Under cracking conditions, metals, especially Ni and V in residues and gas oil deposit on the cracking catalyst and induce adverse dehydrogenation reactions. The catalyst's zeolite component is destroyed by these metals. While reducing the yield of gasoline, active metals increase the yields of coke and hydrogen. Because most cracking FCC units can only tolerate limited amounts of coke and hydrogen, the level of heavy metals on the catalyst needs to be kept under control in order to achieve maximum productivity and profit. Metal passivation enhances catalytic activity and/or selectivity to more desired products by minimizing the detrimental effects of contaminating metals. In this study, we will review heavy metals deactivation mechanism in RFCC process and the potential technological solutions to the catalyst deactivation concern