AFFECTIVE LEARNING STUDYING THE INFLUENCE OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS ON LEARNING

This article examines the academic emotions experienced by students, with a particular emphasis on their affective states concerning acquiring knowledge, pedagogical methods, and attainment of goals. The positive emotions on the achievement of desired educational outcomes and identify circumstances that elicit positive affect. Although an excess of negativity poses an impediment to progress, moderate levels of anxiety or perplexity, when accompanied by self-assurance, can exert beneficial influence on attainment of educational objectives. The investigation examines the presence of positive emotions in context of learning and teaching, which is an area that has received limited attention in the past. Employing a novel method for measuring emotions, the study examines interview data obtained from 36 individuals who volunteered to participate in the research at an Australian university. The analysis delves into various themes associated with five positive emotions, thus facilitating a comparison of viewpoints between students and lecturers

EFFICACY OF 3O% SALICYLIC ACID AND JESSNER SOLUTION CHEMICAL PEELING IN PATIENTS WITH EPIDERMAL MELASMA

Background; Melasma has a significant impact on appearance, causing psychosocial and emotional distress, and reducing the quality of life of the affected patients. In this context, it has a negative impact on the quality of life of patients, affecting their psychological and emotional well-being, which often motivates them to search for a dermatologist. Objective; To compare mean MASI score of in patients with epidermal melasma treated with 30 % salicylic acid versus Jessner solution chemical peeling. Material and methods; A total of 396 patients were taken in our study. Patients was randomly allocated in to two groups by lottery method. Group A, having 198 patients, were treated with 30 % salicylic acid while group B, having 198 patients, with Jessner solution chemical peeling in patients. After two weeks of priming, which was comprised of nightly application of 0.05% tretinoin and daytime sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 60, treatment according to the group was started. Night-time use of moisturizer was applied in all patients and asked for follow up visits after 2 weeks till 12 weeks to document final outcome. Baseline and post-treatment MASI scores was calculated and patients were followed weekly till 12 weeks from the beginning of therapy to document efficacy. Results; Of these 396 study cases, 126 (31.8 %) were male patients while 270 (68.2 %) were female patients. Mean age of our study cases was 27.20 ± 5.08 years.  Mean body mass index of our study cases was 24.82 ± 2.51 kg/m2 and obesity was present in 28 (7.1 %) of our study cases. Fitzpatrick Skin type III was noted in 270 (68.2%) and skin type III was noted in 126 (31.8%) of our study cases. Mean disease duration was 10.62 ± 5.92 months and 293 (74 %) had duration of illness up to 1 year. Mean post treatment MASI score in our study was noted to 9.31 ±2.93 while mean MASI in group A was 7.59 ± 3.02 while in group B mean MASI was 11.03 ± 1.48 (p = 0.000). Conclusion; Our study results have indicated that 30 % salicylic acid is more effective in treatment of epidermal melasma as compared with Jessner solution as there was significant reduction of mean MASI score in our patients and it provides rapid and sustained clinical improvement in the treatment of melasma. The results of this study support use of 30 % salicylic acid among targeted population which had significant impact on the improvement of quality of life of these patients and relieved them from psychological stress of this disease. Proper management of melasma helps improve productivity of the patients as it hits main working force of the society, hence plays important role in the national productivity and health economy. Keywords; Melasma, Salicylic acid, Jessner Solution, MASI.

The Karachi intracranial stenosis study (KISS) Protocol: an urban multicenter case-control investigation reporting the clinical, radiologic and biochemical associations of intracranial stenosis in Pakistan.

Background: Intracranial stenosis is the most common cause of stroke among Asians. It has a poor prognosis with a high rate of recurrence. No effective medical or surgical treatment modality has been developed for the treatment of stroke due to intracranial stenosis. We aim to identify risk factors and biomarkers for intracranial stenosis and to develop techniques such as use of transcranial doppler to help diagnose intracranial stenosis in a cost-effective manner. Methods/Design: The Karachi Intracranial Stenosis Study (KISS) is a prospective, observational, case-control study to describe the clinical features and determine the risk factors of patients with stroke due to intracranial stenosis and compare them to those with stroke due to other etiologies as well as to unaffected individuals. We plan to recruit 200 patients with stroke due to intracranial stenosis and two control groups each of 150 matched individuals. The first set of controls will include patients with ischemic stroke that is due to other atherosclerotic mechanisms specifically lacunar and cardioembolic strokes. The second group will consist of stroke free individuals. Standardized interviews will be conducted to determine demographic, medical, social, and behavioral variables along with baseline medications. Mandatory procedures for inclusion in the study are clinical confirmation of stroke by a healthcare professional within 72 hours of onset, 12 lead electrocardiogram, and neuroimaging. In addition, lipid profile, serum glucose, creatinine and HbA1C will be measured in all participants. Ancillary tests will include carotid ultrasound, transcranial doppler and magnetic resonance or computed tomography angiogram to rule out concurrent carotid disease. Echocardiogram and other additional investigations will be performed at these centers at the discretion of the regional physicians. Discussion: The results of this study will help inform locally relevant clinical guidelines and effective public health and individual interventions

Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries : a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background In September, 2015, the UN General Assembly established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs specify 17 universal goals, 169 targets, and 230 indicators leading up to 2030. We provide an analysis of 33 health-related SDG indicators based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015). Methods We applied statistical methods to systematically compiled data to estimate the performance of 33 health-related SDG indicators for 188 countries from 1990 to 2015. We rescaled each indicator on a scale from 0 (worst observed value between 1990 and 2015) to 100 (best observed). Indices representing all 33 health-related SDG indicators (health-related SDG index), health-related SDG indicators included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG index), and health-related indicators not included in the MDGs (non-MDG index) were computed as the geometric mean of the rescaled indicators by SDG target. We used spline regressions to examine the relations between the Socio-demographic Index (SDI, a summary measure based on average income per person, educational attainment, and total fertility rate) and each of the health-related SDG indicators and indices. Findings In 2015, the median health-related SDG index was 59.3 (95% uncertainty interval 56.8-61.8) and varied widely by country, ranging from 85.5 (84.2-86.5) in Iceland to 20.4 (15.4-24.9) in Central African Republic. SDI was a good predictor of the health-related SDG index (r(2) = 0.88) and the MDG index (r(2) = 0.2), whereas the non-MDG index had a weaker relation with SDI (r(2) = 0.79). Between 2000 and 2015, the health-related SDG index improved by a median of 7.9 (IQR 5.0-10.4), and gains on the MDG index (a median change of 10.0 [6.7-13.1]) exceeded that of the non-MDG index (a median change of 5.5 [2.1-8.9]). Since 2000, pronounced progress occurred for indicators such as met need with modern contraception, under-5 mortality, and neonatal mortality, as well as the indicator for universal health coverage tracer interventions. Moderate improvements were found for indicators such as HIV and tuberculosis incidence, minimal changes for hepatitis B incidence took place, and childhood overweight considerably worsened. Interpretation GBD provides an independent, comparable avenue for monitoring progress towards the health-related SDGs. Our analysis not only highlights the importance of income, education, and fertility as drivers of health improvement but also emphasises that investments in these areas alone will not be sufficient. Although considerable progress on the health-related MDG indicators has been made, these gains will need to be sustained and, in many cases, accelerated to achieve the ambitious SDG targets. The minimal improvement in or worsening of health-related indicators beyond the MDGs highlight the need for additional resources to effectively address the expanded scope of the health-related SDGs.Peer reviewe

MARKET-BASED MANAGEMENT (MBM) APPROACH TO SUCCESS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: LESSONS FROM A MID-SIZED BUSINESS INSTITUTE: Received: 26th June 2023; Revised: 13th October 2023, 18th October 2023, 19th October 2023; Accepted: 26th October 2023

This research examines a mid-sized business institute, SZABIST-Dubai by using a qualitative research methodology of case study. The research objective is to explore the adoption of Market-Based Management (MBM) for its application in Higher Education and to recommend Market Based Management that is lean and agile enough to identify local market opportunities, understand its unique requirements and initiate processes to capture these opportunities before they are lost to competition. Some significant findings of this paper are the survival and profitability challenges faced by SZABIST and a unidirectional centralised decision-making model that is adapted currently at the institute. The outcome of this paper is its proposition of Market Based Management (MBM) as a tool to evolve into a knowledge-based learning organization that is more responsive to regional and local challenges. The most significant contribution of this paper towards this objective is the founding of Task Teams that transform tacit learning into explicit knowledge through the process of socialisation. This paper may be useful for future researchers who wish to extend these findings to other higher educational institutes

Homozygous CALR Mutation in Primary Myelofibrosis and Its Effect on Disease Phenotype: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Somatic mutations in CALR gene have been reported in 60%–88% of patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF) who are negative for JAK2 and MPL mutations. Most of the CALR mutations analyzed to date are heterozygous mutations in exon 9 of the gene. Homozygosity in CALR gene is rarely reported, and its association with clinical behavior of disease and impact on outcome of patients is not studied so far. We herein report a case of intermediate-2 risk PMF (according to IPSS) diagnosed with homozygous mutation (c.1139delA p.E380fs∗50) in CALR gene having severe disease manifestations at presentation

BMI and psychological constructs: Comparative study of medical and non-medical female students of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Purpose: The high ratio of obesity prevalence was found in Saudi females. On the other hand, medical students have shown diverse patterns of knowledge and practice for their health around the world. This research aimed to measure the effectiveness of medical education for female medical sciences students related to BMI and psychological constructs by providing a comparative analysis between female medical and non-medical students of University. Material and Methods: For this study, descriptive, cross-sectional, the comparative design was used. Standardised scales were utilised to gather data. The sample comprised (N = 400) female students from medical and non-medical colleges. Independent sample t-test was calculated to measure the difference between demographics and health-related variables, BMI and psychological constructs for groups of medical and non-medical students. Results: Results presented no significant difference in demographic variables and health-related variables that shows that all students share similar demographic and health-related characteristics. However, a significant difference was found on the psychological variables of well-being well-being (t = 2.436, p 0.05). Conclusion: Therefore, the findings of the study concluded that female students of medical sciences were engaged related to health management courses, so they adopt a healthier lifestyle. It is recommended to increase community-based projects for non-medical students to facilitate and raise their awareness to maintain health-related activities and to enhance the perception of well-being

Genomic profile of a patient with triple negative essential thrombocythemia, unresponsive to therapy: A case report and literature review

Clonal analysis of patients with triple negative myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) has provided evidence of additional aberrations, including epigenetic alterations. To discover such novel genetic aberrations, patients were screened through next-generation sequencing using a myeloid sequencing panel of 54 genes using a genetic analyser. Genetic variants in 28 genes, including TET2, BCOR, BCR, and ABL1 were identified in a triple negative essential thrombocythemia (ET) patient. The individual role of some of these variants in disease pathogenesis has yet to be studied. Somatic mutations in the same genes have been reported with variable frequencies in myeloid malignancies. However, no pathogenic impact of these variants could be found; therefore, long-term follow up of patients with genetic analysis of a large cohort and the use of whole genome sequencing is required to assess the effects of these variants

Molecular characterization of circulating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) genotypes in Gilgit Baltistan Province of Pakistan during 2011-2012 winter season.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections in young children, but very little is known about its epidemiology and circulating genotypes in Pakistan. This study analyzed the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of RSV genotypes detected in Pakistani children less than 2 years of age with acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) in a tertiary care hospital in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) province during 2011-12 winter season. RSV was detected in 75 out of 105 children presenting with acute respiratory infection. Male infants between 2-6 months age made up the highest percentage of RSV positive cases. Epidemiological factors such as pre-maturity, mean weight, clinical features and diagnosis when compared between RSV positive and negative groups were found to be statistically insignificant. Phylogenetic analysis classified all 75 of the RSV strains into 71 strains of subgroups A and 4 strains of subgroup B, respectively. Strains belonging to subgroups A and B were further subdivided into NA1/GA2 and BA, respectively. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence identities were relatively high among these strains (>90%). Both RSV-A and RSV-B isolates had two potential N-glycosylation sites in HVR2 of G protein and with heavy O-glycosylation of serine and threonine residues (G scores of 0.5-0.7). This report highlights the significance of RSV as a dominant viral etiologic agent of pediatric ARIs, and need for continued molecular epidemiological surveys for early detection of prevalent strains and newly emerging genotypes to understand epidemiology of RSV infections in various regions of Pakistan