SELF-REGULATION AS MEDIATOR IN PEER RELATIONSHIP, REJECTION SENSITIVITY WITH POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT AMONG ADOLESCENTS

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mediating role of self-regulation in peer relationship, rejection sensitivity and positive development among adolescents. METHODS: This cross-sectional research was conducted at Department of Psychology from October, 2018 to September, 2019, comprised of two phases. In first phase, Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ), Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument (APRI), Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ), and Positive Youth Development Inventory (PYDI), were translated into Urdu by forward-backward translation method. For pilot-testing, these scales were administered on 130 students and scales were found to be reliable. In second phase, Urdu versions of four instruments were administered to a sample of 608 (males=330, females=278) college students of 1st and 2nd years studying in various colleges of Sara-i-Alamgir by stratified proportionate random sampling technique. RESULTS: Cronbach alpha reliability of SRQ, APRI, RSQ, and PYDI was found to be 0.710, 0.838, 0.704, and 0.851 respectively in first phase. Mean age of students was 17.6±0.83 years. The hierarchical regression analysis found the mediating role of self-regulation in positive development of adolescents while partial indirect effects for peer relationships (B=.28, p<.01) and full indirect effects for rejection sensitivity (B=.32, p<.001) were found. CONCLUSION: The positive development in adolescents was enhanced by their self-regulatory strategies as it buffered the impact of negative relationships with the friends such as bullying and victimization. Furthermore, the elements of sensitivity to rejection by peers were softened by their self-regulation and did not hampered their positive development. Implications in the light of the present findings are discussed

Quality of Life in Children with Epilepsy in Wah Cantt, Pakistan: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective: To assess the Quality Of Life (QOL) in children with epilepsy using modified QOLCE-55 questionnaire. Material and Methods: We consecutively enrolled children aged 4 to 16 years who were under treatment for childhood epilepsy. Basic demographic and clinical details including type of epilepsy, developmental history, family history of epilepsy and any co-morbidity were recorded in a predesigned Performa. QOL was evaluated by using modified QOLCE-55 (39 items) from parents. Results: A total of 54 children were enrolled in the study, 42 (78%) were males and 12(22%) were female children with epilepsy.&nbsp; Eight children got good QOLCE score, while 24 children had average and 22 children got a poor score. The good score was mostly seen in 4-8 years (40%) of age while the poor score was seen in 12-16 years (70%) age group. Age of the patients (p=&lt;0.001), gender (p=&lt;0.001), associated co-morbidities (p=0.003) and family history of epilepsy (p=0.011) showed a significant effect on the QOLCE score. Type of epilepsy (p= 0.825) and development of a child (p=0.109) did not affect the QOLCE score significantly. Conclusion: The study showed that Children with co-morbidities, family history of epilepsy and female children of older age group (12-16 years) had poor QOL. Types of seizures and development of the child did not significantly alter the QOLCE score

3-[4-(Acetamido)­benzene­sulfonamido]­benzoic acid

In the title compound, C15H14N2O5S, the dihedral angle between the aromatic rings is 63.20 (11) Å. The crystal structure displays classical inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding typical for carb­oxy­lic acids, forming centrosymmetric dimers. These dimers are further connected by N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds to form an extended network

Assessment of Morphoanatomical Modifications in Cucurbita pepo L. in Response to Combined Drought and Nickel Stress

Background: Nickel (Ni) is a toxic heavy metal and causes human health risks as well as plant abnormalities. The present study aimed to determine morpho-anatomical features of Cucurbita pepo L. var. fastigata under combined drought and Ni stress in greenhouse experiment.Methods: Seedlings were treated with four irrigation levels to induce drought stress 14 ml, 11.2 ml, 8.4 ml and 5.6 ml (abbreviated as S0, S1, S2 and S3) along with 25 ppm of Nickel.Results: The results were analyzed after 5th and 10th days and data revealed that seed germination rate and stem diameter was significantly (P≤ 0.05) increased while stem length, root length, root diameter, the number of secondary roots, leaf area, fresh weight, and dry weight were decreased. Among anatomical characteristics epidermis, xylem, phloem tissues, cortex, trichomes, medullary rays, endodermis, pericycle, palisade, mesophyll cells, and stem mid rib were adversely affected under water stress (S1 and S2) while plants under combined Ni stress showed significant (P≤ 0.05) reduction in cortex diameter, and increase in epidermis thickness, vascular bundles size except for S3 treatment level.Conclusion: It was concluded that combined drought and Ni stress positively affected the morphological features (roots, stem length, and leaf area) of the Cucurbita pepo plant as compared to separate water and Ni stress, preventing plant wilting.Keywords: Nickel, drought stress, anatomy, morphology, Cucurbita pepo L.

Spin-orbit splittings in heavy-light mesons and Dirac equation

The spin-orbit splitting in heavy-light mesons is seen to be suppressed experimentally. It is shown that it can be understood qualitatively in the frame work of Dirac theory. An alternative derivation of a relativistic dynamical symmetry for the Dirac Hamiltonian, which suppresses spin orbit splitting, is also given. However it is shown that such a symmetry is not needed since the spin-orbit splitting in Dirac theory with Coulomb like potential (as is the case for the one gluon exchange potential in pQCD) is small anyway.Comment: 9 pages, 1 fi

SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern dominate in Lahore, Pakistan in April 2021

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to expand globally, with case numbers rising in many areas of the world, including the Indian sub-continent. Pakistan has one of the world’s largest populations, of over 200 million people and is experiencing a severe third wave of infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 that began in March 2021. In Pakistan, during the third wave until now only 12 SARS-CoV-2 genomes have been collected and among these nine are from Islamabad. This highlights the need for more genome sequencing to allow surveillance of variants in circulation. In fact, more genomes are available among travellers with a travel history from Pakistan, than from within the country itself. We thus aimed to provide a snapshot assessment of circulating lineages in Lahore and surrounding areas with a combined population of 11.1 million. Within a week of April 2021, 102 samples were sequenced. The samples were randomly collected from two hospitals with a diagnostic PCR cutoff value of less than 25 cycles. Analysis of the lineages shows that the Alpha variant of concern (first identified in the UK) dominates, accounting for 97.9 % (97/99) of cases, with the Beta variant of concern (first identified in South Africa) accounting for 2.0 % (2/99) of cases. No other lineages were observed. In depth analysis of the Alpha lineages indicated multiple separate introductions and subsequent establishment within the region. Eight samples were identical to genomes observed in Europe (seven UK, one Switzerland), indicating recent transmission. Genomes of other samples show evidence that these have evolved, indicating sustained transmission over a period of time either within Pakistan or other countries with low-density genome sequencing. Vaccines remain effective against Alpha, however, the low level of Beta against which some vaccines are less effective demonstrates the requirement for continued prospective genomic surveillance

A case report of TRAP Sequence with Preeclampsia and Review of Literature

We are reporting a case of the Twin Reversed-Arterial Perfusion (TRAP) sequence, specifically highlighting the autopsy findings of an acardiac twin and the histopathological findings in its placenta. The TRAPsequence or acardiac twining, is an uncommon congenital anomaly involving a grossly abnormal acardiac twin and an otherwise normal pump twin. Thiscomplex congenital anomaly is unique to monochorionicmonozygotic twin gestations. It requires an artery-to-artery(A-A) anastomosis leading to reversal of arterial perfusion with complex pathophysiology. A 19 year-oldgirl delivered twins by C-section at 31 weeks because of preeclampsia and non-reassuring fetal heart tracings. One was a preterm female; the other was an acardiac twin. This is perhaps the first case report of autopsy findings of an acardiac twin pregnancy associated with preeclampsia

Dynamic nuclear Stark shift in hydrogen-like U-238 via super-intense laser field

The dynamic nuclear Stark shift has been studied for Hydrogen-like U-238, under the indirect interaction of super-intense laser with nucleus via oscillating electron. The system of Hydrogen-like U-238 is chosen by keeping the available laser facilities in mind. The electron, oscillates under the influence of linearly polarized laser field, producing a variable electric field that interacts with the discrete nuclear levels. An appreciable Stark shift has been calculated in the nuclear levels for the variation in the intensity and frequency of the incident laser

Unveiling the Determinants of Islamic Mobile Banking Adoption: Evidence from Pakistan

Mobile Banking is a cutting-edge technological innovation in the banking industry that has greatly increased banking efficiency and boosted the overall quality of life for individuals. Financial firms are increasingly attracted to systems that enhance the quality of client service. This study aims to further our understanding of the adoption of Islamic mobile banking by utilizing the Technological Acceptance Model (TAM). This study presents a research approach that utilizes the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate the factors that influence consumers' adoption of Islamic mobile banking. Consequently, it offers insights into the crucial factors that banking professionals must take into account to promote the integration of mobile technology in Islamic banking services. The data for this study were collected by a questionnaire survey and then analyzed using SPSS and Smart PLS 3.0, utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM). The study sample comprised 350 individuals who were customers of various branches of five Islamic banks, namely Meezan Bank Limited, Dubai Islamic Bank, Al-Baraka Bank Limited, MCB Islamic Bank Limited, and Bank AlFalah Islamic. After conducting data screening procedures, a final sample of 300 respondents was selected for analysis. The findings indicate that characteristics such as Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) have a positive influence on the Intention to Use (INT), supporting the notion that PU has a positive impact on PEOU according to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The research findings suggest that customers' adoption of Islamic banking is positively influenced by their intentions to utilize it, and these intentions are further enhanced by social influence