USE OF DIGITAL RESOURCES BY MEDICAL STUDENTS

21st century is considered as the “era of technology”. Technology has modernized the field of education. Modern students prefer to use digital resources in their routine studies. The study was conducted to find the “Use of Digital Resources by Medical Students of Services Institute of Medical Sciences Lahore”. The descriptive data analysis technique was used in this research work to answer the research questions for the fulfillment of research objectives. A group of 276 students was selected among which a total of n=126 respondents were male with a total percentage of 45.7% whereas the total number of female respondents who participated in the study were 150 in number with a cumulative percentage of 54.3%. The results revealed that majority of students (160 out of 272) was aware with the use of both types of resources like electronic and print. Moreover 38% responded that subscribed e-journals/database were available in the library of their medical colleges. Overall awareness regarding use of e-resources among medical students of services institute of medical was good. Medical students are highly depending on information technology; although the electronic resources have not completely replaced the hard form of books but still utilization of electronic resources by medical student and residents is very high, even the result of research demonstrates that more than half students like to use the internet- resources rather than print resources. The findings of this study showed that students were aware with the use of both type of resources

Financial Development and Economic Growth:The Role of Energy Consumption

The study investigates financial development and economic growth nexus, incorporating use of energy resources for Pakistan for 1980-2016, using Johansen co-integration and granger causality approach. The results of Johansen test for co-integration show the link between financial development, energy and economic growth in the long time span. The findings of granger causation test uncovered a two-way causality between capital and economic growth. The one-way causality exists from economic growth in energy and financial development. The findings also exposed the one-way causality from capital formation and exports to use of energy. The government should take steps to make financial sectors stronger as it has a great role in increasing the growth of an economy

Antidiabetic potential of Nigella sativa L seed oil in alloxaninduced diabetic rabbits

Purpose: To evaluate the antidiabetic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant potential of seed oil of Nigella sativa L (NSO). Methods: Nigella sativa seed oil (NSO) was extracted with Soxhlet apparatus using petroleum ether, and was given orally at a dose of 2.5 ml/kg body weight to alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits daily for 24 days. Biochemical parameters including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), very low lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and plasma glucose were determined in the treatment and control groups. Furthermore, bilirubin, vitamin C, catalase and mean body weight were assessed. Results: NSO treatment significantly lowered serum blood glucose levels and lipid contents, but increased the mean body weight, HDL-C and vitamin C levels of diabetic rabbits (p < 0.001). Moreover, NSO significantly decreased catalase activity, TC, TGs, LDL-C and VLDL-C levels, but normalized bilirubin levels in diabetic rabbits. Conclusion: These results indicate that NSO possesses significant antidiabetic potential. Thus, it may be useful as an adjunct with antidiabetic medication but further studies are required to ascertain this. Keywords: Black cumin, Diabetes, Hypoglycemic, Hypolipidemic, Antioxidant

Toxicity and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in spinach (spinacia oleracea) grown in a controlled environment

The impact of heavy metal toxicity on the shoot and root lengths, total protein, fiber characteristics, moisture content and nutrient composition of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) was evaluated. Plants were grown in pots containing soil and treated with different concentrations (mg/kg) of lead (Pb; 300, 400 and 500), cadmium (Cd; 0.5, 1 and 1.5) and zinc (Zn; 250, 500, and 700) as well as mixtures of Cd and Pb (0.5/300, 1/400, 1.5/500), Cd and Zn (0.5/250, 1/500, 1.5/700), and Pb and Zn (300/250, 400/500, 500/700). Soil contaminated by long-term irrigation with wastewater containing heavy metals was simulated. An increase in concentrations of heavy metals both individually and as mixtures significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the growth parameters and nutrient contents of S. oleracea. The uptake patterns of heavy metals in mixtures showed antagonistic impacts on each other. The toxicities of the mixtures Cd and Pb, Cd and Zn as well as Pb and Zn were higher than those observed in separate heavy metal applications but less than their additive sums. The toxicity caused by individual heavy metals was the highest for Cd followed by Pb and Zn. The highest toxicity was observed in plants grown in soil contaminated by Cd and Pb

Variations in physico-chemical and antioxidant attributes of grape seed oil as function of extraction techniques

The aim of the current research work was to assess and compare the impact of two extraction techniques on the physico-chemical, and antioxidant parameters of grape seed oil (GSO). The GSO extracted by Soxhlet and Folch methods indicated a notable variation in the oil yield (8.58 % and 10.19%) and saponification value (196.35 and 189.33 mg of KOH g-1), respectively. However, no significant (p<0.05) variation was detected for density, acid value, refractive index, iodine no, unsaponifiable matter, and free fatty acids between the tested two oils. Meanwhile, the oil produced by Soxhlet method exhibited relatively a higher extent of unsaturated dienes, trienes, peroxide value, p-anisidine value, and thus poor oxidation state. A notable variation in the content of principal fatty acid (linoleic acid) was recorded between Folch extracted oil (70.11%) and Soxhlet extracted oil (66.57%). The contents of total tocopherols were noted to be considerably higher for Folch extracted oil (105.55 mg kg-1) than the Soxhlet extracted oil (73.70 mg kg-1). Among the individual phenolics analyzed by HPLC, gallic acid (14.02 mg kg-1) and caffeic acid (5.20 mg kg-1) were detected as major component in Folch extracted oil and Soxhlet extracted oil, respectively. The results of the present comparative study support that Folch method is relatively a good choice for the extraction of GSO with promising nutritive quality in terms of oxidation parameters, contents of linoleic acid and antioxidant phenolics

IDENTIFYING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KM) TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES BEING ADOPTED & APPLIED IN TEACHING HOSPITALS

Globalization is affecting the management of different types of organizations including healthcare organizations. In the knowledge-based economy, the management of knowledge has become an important mechanism to improve the performance of professionals and organizations. Knowledge management helps in transferring and generating new knowledge among professionals including hospital doctors. The Services Hospital Lahore is a teaching hospital and one of the leading health care organizations in the public sector of Punjab, Pakistan. The main purpose of this study was to explore the tools being adopted by medical officers for Knowledge Management (KM) practices. The nature of this study was quantitative. Simple random sampling was used to select the sample from the whole population in the selected hospital. The study found that knowledge management practices among doctors were good, but it required more attention from higher administration to supports the knowledge sharing, capturing, and generating activities among doctors in Services Hospital Lahore. Previous studies revealed that good management of knowledge in a hospital has a positive effect on the performance of patients\u27 care delivery. This study concluded that through effective knowledge management practices, the hospital cloud improves the patient\u27s care services. The key recommendations from this study were that management of knowledge could be improved by the use of the latest technological tools

MALIGNANT OVARIAN GERM CELL TUMOURS (MOGCT); SURVIVAL OUTCOMES FROM A SINGLE INSTITUTION IN PAKISTAN

Objectives: Malignant ovarian germ cell tumours (MOGCTs) are rare, but aggressive tumours seen mostly in young women or adolescent girls. The aim of our study was to evaluate the survival outcomes of MOGCT patients treated at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, Pakistan. Materials and Methods: One hundred and nine females were retrospectively identi ed through hospital information system with MOGCT from 2007 to 2013. Histology was based on the WHO classi cation. Tumours were staged according to the Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics staging system. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were determined by the Kaplan–Meier method. All patients were included in the study. Patient who had been lost to follow-up was contacted through telephone. Results: Mean presenting age was 20 years (range 4–54). 38% of patients had Stage I, 7% had Stage II, 25% had Stage III and 30% of patients had Stage IV disease. Based on histology, 42% had dysgerminoma, 25% had mixed germ cell tumours, 18% had yolk sac tumour, 13% had teratoma and 2% had embryonal carcinoma. Median follow-up time was 41 months. All patients underwent initial surgery, of which 86 (79%) had fertility-preserving surgery. 91 (84%) patients received adjuvant chemotherapy and 18 (16%) were kept on surveillance. The chemotherapy regimen used was a combination of bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin. 89 patients had a complete remission, 14 had partial response and one had progressive disease. Five patients had relapsed disease, four distant and one local. The 5 year OS was 91% and DFS was 88%. Conclusion: MOGCTs have a good prognosis. Fertility-sparing surgery was possible in the majority of cases. BEP regimen has excellent activity and acceptable toxicity in patients with MOGCT. Key words: Disease-free survival, malignant ovarian germ cell tumours, overall survival

Questionable research practices of medical and dental faculty in Pakistan – a confession

Purpose: Intellectual honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of conducting any form of research. Over the last few years, scholars have shown great concerns over questionable research practices (QRPs) in academia. This study aims to investigate the questionable research practices amongst faculty members of medical and dental colleges in Pakistan. Method: A descriptive multi-institutional online survey was conducted from June-August 2022. Based on previous studies assessing research misconduct, 43 questionable research practices in four domains: Data collection & storage, Data analysis, Study reporting and Collaboration & authorship were identified and investigated. Descriptive (Frequencies, Percentages, Mean, SD) and Inferential (chi square) statistics were calculated. Results: A total of 654 faculty members responded. Every respondent reported committing at least one QRP in their career. The most common QRPs included deliberately failing to mention funding, publishing program evaluation data not meant for research purposes or approved by an ethical body, inappropriately storing identifiable information and non-disclosure of any conflicts. There was significant association of age, gender and academic rank with QRPs in ‘Data collection and storage’ and ‘Data Analysis’ domains. Conclusion: Medical and dental faculty members participating in this study are involved in a range of questionable research practices (QRPs) in Pakistan. Their confession might have contributed to the faculty developing self-awareness and reinforcing academic integrity. There is a need for reviewing policies and practices to improve research culture. Future research should explore the factors resulting in such practices.Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library