Nutritional and lifestyle risk behaviors and their association with mental health and violence among Pakistani adolescents: results from the National Survey of 4583 individuals

Background: Unhealthy behaviors are associated with mental health problems and violence in adolescents, yet their combined association has been understudied. Using the Global School Health Survey, this study examined the association between combined unhealthy behaviors (including fast food, soft drink, smoking, other tobacco products and physical inactivity) and anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight among Pakistani adolescents. Methods: Data were obtained from the Global School Health Survey conducted in Pakistan (2009). The study population consisted of school going adolescents aged 13 to 15 years. Association of combined unhealthy behaviors with anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight were studied through secondary analysis. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis by complex sample method, accounting for cluster sampling technique used for data collection. Results: Of the total 4583 students, weighted percentage and unweighted count for one, two, three and four or more unhealthy behaviors was 39.4% (n = 1770), 22.1% (n = 963), 5.9% (n = 274) and 1.2% (n = 62) respectively. The weighted prevalence for anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight were 8.4%, 7.3% and 37.4% respectively. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis after adjustment showed that students who had four or more unhealthy behaviors had higher odds of; being anxious (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.31-4.59, p value 0.004), suicide ideation (OR 4.56, 95% CI 2.58-8.07, p value &lt;0.001) and being involved in physical fight (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.63–6.08, p value &lt;0.001) as compared to those who had not adopted any unhealthy behaviors. Conclusions: This study suggests that the co-occurrence of unhealthy behaviors is associated with anxiety, suicidal ideation and physical fight among adolescents. These findings should be considered when developing interventions to combat detrimental outcomes of unhealthy behaviors during adolescence.</p

Exploring IoT in Smart Cities: Practices, Challenges and Way Forward

The rise of Internet of things (IoT) technology has revolutionized urban living, offering immense potential for smart cities in which smart home, smart infrastructure, and smart industry are essential aspects that contribute to the development of intelligent urban ecosystems. The integration of smart home technology raises concerns regarding data privacy and security, while smart infrastructure implementation demands robust networking and interoperability solutions. Simultaneously, deploying IoT in industrial settings faces challenges related to scalability, standardization, and data management. This research paper offers a systematic literature review of published research in the field of IoT in smart cities including 55 relevant primary studies that have been published in reputable journals and conferences. This extensive literature review explores and evaluates various aspects of smart home, smart infrastructure, and smart industry and the challenges like security and privacy, smart sensors, interoperability and standardization. We provide a unified perspective, as we seek to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of smart cities while overcoming security concerns. It then explores their potential for collective integration and impact on the development of smart cities. Furthermore, this study addresses the challenges associated with each component individually and explores their combined impact on enhancing urban efficiency and sustainability. Through a comprehensive analysis of security concerns, this research successfully integrates these IoT components in a unified approach, presenting a holistic framework for building smart cities of the future. Integrating smart home, smart infrastructure, and smart industry, this research highlights the significance of an integrated approach in developing smart cities

SOCIAL ANXIETY AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE AS DETERMINANTS OF BULLYING BEHAVIOR: A CASE STUDY OF HYDERABAD, SINDH, PAKISTAN

This study investigated the social anxiety and social competence as determinants of bullying student’s behavior of among college students in Pakistan. To define the level of social anxiety and bullying behavior of students which self, peers, regard fatalities as having poorer social skills through 20 behavior’s/competences. A convenience sample of 230 pupils aged between 12 to 14 years (130 girls and 100 boys) provided self-report and peer-report data. They were taken from four colleges of Hyderabad city Sindh Pakistan, like as I mentioned zubaida government degree Girls College Hyderabad, Hayat Girls College Hyderabad, Government Boys degree College Qasimabad, Government degree College kohsar Hyderabad. Furthermore the researcher has used quantitative method survey questionnaire distribute to the respondents for data collection. Analysis through SPSS version 26 Post hoc multiple comparisons of social anxiety and social competence of bullying behavior of students experiences with social anxiety in college students. Study situations using Mann–Whitney U tests demographic information of respondent’s, analysis reliability analysis. In results researcher has found some of the main cause behind this study social anxiety and bullying behavior of students playing negative role in the society. This research will be fruitful for the scholars and policy makers. Article visualizations

Interactions of short chain phenylalkanoic acids within ionic surfactant micelles in aqueous media

% SDS KR nema Solubilization and interactions of phenylalkanoic acids induced by cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was investigated spectrophotometrically at 25.0°C. The UV spectra of the additives (acids) were measured with and without surfactant above and below critical micelle concentration (cmc) of the surfactant. The presence of alkyl chain in phenylalkanoic acids is responsible for hydrophobic interaction resulting in shift of the spectra towards longer wavelength (red shift). The value of partition coefficient (Kx) between the bulk water and surfactant micelles and in turn standard free energy change of solubilization (ΔGpº) were also estimated by measuring the differential absorbance (ΔA) of the additives in micellar solutions

Areca nut chewing and the risk of re-hospitalization and mortality among patients with acute coronary syndrome in Pakistan

Objectives: Areca nut is widely consumed in many parts of the world, especially in South and Southeast Asia, where cardiovascular disease (CVD) is also a huge burden. Among the forms of CVD, acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. Research has shown areca nut chewing to be associated with diabetes, hypertension, oropharyngeal and esophageal cancers, and CVD, but little is known about mortality and re-hospitalization secondary to ACS among areca nut users and non-users. Methods: A prospective cohort was studied to quantify the effect of areca nut chewing on patients with newly diagnosed ACS by categorizing the study population into exposed and non-exposed groups according to baseline chewing status. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the associations of areca nut chewing with the risk of re-hospitalization and 30-day mortality secondary to ACS. Results: Of the 384 ACS patients, 49.5% (n=190) were areca users. During 1-month of follow-up, 20.3% (n=78) deaths and 25.1% (n=96) re-hospitalizations occurred. A higher risk of re-hospitalization was found (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29 to 3.27; p=0.002) in areca users than in non-users. Moreover, patients with severe disease were at a significantly higher risk of 30-day mortality (aHR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.67 to 4.59; p&lt;0.001) and re-hospitalization (aHR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.73 to 4.26; p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: The 30-day re-hospitalization rate among ACS patients was found to be significantly higher in areca users and individuals with severe disease. These findings suggest that screening for a history of areca nut chewing may help to identify patients at a high risk for re-hospitalization due to secondary events

IMPACT OF TEACHERS’ BEHAVIOR ON THE MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS AT HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL: EMPIRICAL STUDY OF DISTRICT HYDERABAD, SINDH, PAKISTAN

Education is considered as an authentic tool for rapid nation building, empowerment, prosperity and economic development. The quality of education remained main issue for Policy makers and curriculum designer. Policy makers have dedicated huge amount of time and energy to provide quality education. Mainly focus of quality betterment relies was associated with infrastructural development like, buildings, furniture, laboratories, libraries and play grounds. In this relation, curriculum designing, hiring of new trained teacher, external environment, nutrition, poverty alleviation also remained priority for betterment of education. But the major element of education is related with student psychology. One major factor is being over shadowed; the motivation of the students, even with the best administrators, highly qualified faculty, curriculum and materials in place, if students are not motivated, to learn and excel, the achievement of goal will become difficult. Therefore, current study major purpose was to investigate the impact of teacher’s behavior on the motivation of students at high school. The study based on inductive approach. The quantitative technique was employed for data collection. The data were analyzed through statistical package for social science 24 version for windows. The findings of study revealed that impact of teacher’s behavior on the motivation of students is positively associated. The teacher motivation has great impact on student attitude, learning, understanding and mental development. Therefore, policy makers, curriculum designers should focus on motivation of students. Article visualizations

Structural Breaks and Volatility Spillover in South Asian Economies

Purpose - This study examines the volatility spillovers in the presence of structural breaks with specific reference to South Asian Capital markets. The global financial crisis of 2007-2009 has compelled policymakers to realize that financial instability has the potential to threaten economic stability and growth; therefore, managing the financial crisis is inevitable. To manage the impact of financial crises, understanding the dynamics of volatility spillover across various markets is imperative. This study has investigated the possible emergence of structural breaks in risk patterns after global financial crises in south Asian markets. Methodology - Using the data from July 2002 to June 2016, employing the Exponential GARCH methodology. Findings - This study finds a significant volatility spillover after the financial crisis of 2007-09. Therefore, the existence of a structural break in the risk pattern of south Asian capital markets cannot be fully rejected. Policy Implications - This conclusion is of prime importance to policymakers in devising policy guidelines concerning financial crises