PREADOLESCENTS PERCEPTION OF TELEVISION VIOLENCE

This study was meant to explore preadolescents’ (8-13 years) perception of violent television content and the degree to which they like and watch such programs and the reasons for watching them. Firstly, an open ended questionnaire was developed using an interview guide and administered upon 10 preadolescents. Secondly, it was administered after pilot testing to children from the schools of Islamabad and Rawalpindi (n=100). Content analysis was applied on the data using emergent coding (data-driven). Results indicated that the favorite genres turned out to be cartoons, crime shows and comedy shows. Pre-adolescents perceived violence in the television content, liked that violence, and identified with the aggressive heroes. Thus, most of the program telecast in Pakistan comprise of truly violent content perceivable and liked by children; which is an alarming signal for parents, media authorities and the children’s personality.  Article visualizations

Alleviation of drought stress through foliar application of thiamine in two varieties of pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Drought stress poorly impacts many morphological and physio-biochemical processes in plants. Pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants are highly nutritious crops destined for human consumption; however, their productivity is threatened under drought stress. Thiamine (vitamin B1) is well-known essential micronutrient, acting as a cofactor in key metabolic processes. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the protective effect of foliar application of thiamine (0, 250, and 500 ppm) on two varieties of pea plants under drought stress. Here, we conducted the pot experiment at the Government College Women University, Faisalabad, to investigate the physio-biochemical and morphological traits of two pea varieties (sarsabz and metior) grown under drought stress and thiamine treatment. Drought stress was applied to plants after germination period of 1 month. Results showed that root fresh and dry weight, shoot fresh and dry weight, number of pods, leaf area, total soluble sugars, total phenolics, total protein contents, catalase, peroxidase, and mineral ions were reduced against drought stress. However, the application of thiamine (both 250 and 500 ppm) overcome the stress and also enhances these parameters, and significantly increases the antioxidant activities (catalase and peroxidase). Moreover, the performance of sarsabz was better under control and drought stress conditions than metior variety. In conclusion, the exogenous application of thiamine enabled the plants to withstand drought stress conditions by regulating several physiological and biochemical mechanisms. In agriculture, it is a great latent to alleviate the antagonistic impact of drought stress on crops through the foliar application of thiamine

Synthesis and in silico study of 2-furyl(4-{4-[(substituted)sulfonyl]benzyl}-1-piperazinyl)methanone derivatives as suitable therapeutic agents

In the study presented here, a new series of 2-furyl(4-{4-[(substituted)sulfonyl]benzyl}-1-piperazinyl)methanone derivatives was targeted. The synthesis was initiated by the treatment of different secondary amines (1a-h) with 4-bromomethylbenzenesulfonyl chloride (2) to obtain various 1-{[4-(bromomethyl)phenyl]sulfonyl}amines (3a-h). 2-Furyl(1-piperazinyl)methanone (2-furoyl-1-piperazine; 4) was then dissolved in acetonitrile, with the addition of K2CO3, and the mixture was refluxed for activation. This activated molecule was further treated with equi-molar amounts of 3a-h to form targeted 2-furyl(4-{4-[(substituted)sulfonyl]benzyl}-1-piperazinyl)methanone derivatives (5a-h) in the same reaction set up. The structure confirmation of all the synthesized compounds was carried out by EI-MS, IR and 1H-NMR spectral analysis. The compounds showed good enzyme inhibitory activity. Compound 5h showed excellent inhibitory effect against acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase with respective IC50 values of 2.91±0.001 and 4.35±0.004 μM, compared to eserine, a reference standard with IC50 values of 0.04±0.0001 and 0.85±0.001 μM, respectively, against these enzymes. All synthesized molecules were active against almost all Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains tested. The cytotoxicity of the molecules was also checked to determine their utility as possible therapeutic agents

Experimental and in silico evaluation of Carthamus tinctorius L. oil emulgel: a promising treatment for bacterial skin infections

PurposeThe current study aimed to develop a topical herbal emulgel containing Carthamus tinctorius L. (CT) oil extract, which has been scientifically proven for its antibacterial and antioxidant activities for the ailment of bacterial skin infections.MethodThe CT emulgel was formulated by response surface methodology (RSM) and was evaluated by various parameters like extrudability, spreadability, pH, viscosity, and antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Molecular docking was also performed using AutoDock.ResultsAmong all formulated CT emulgels, F9 and F8 were optimized. Optimized formulations had shown good spreadability and extrudability characteristics. Sample F8 had % inhibition of 42.131 ± 0.335, 56.720 ± 0.222, and 72.440 ± 0.335 at different concentrations. Sample F9 had % inhibition of 26.312 ± 0.280, 32.461 ± 0.328, and 42.762 ± 0.398 at concentrations of 250 µg/ml, 500 µg/ml, and 1,000 µg/ml, respectively, which shows that both samples F8 and F9 have significant antioxidant potential. Optimized CT emulgels F8 and F9 had significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli at p-value = 0.00, the Emulgel-F8 shows zone of inhibition of 24 mm for E-coli and 19 mm for S-aureus. Emulgel-F9 shows zone of inhibition of 22 mm for E-coli and 15 mm for S-aureus while pure CT- Oil extract shows zone of inhibition of 25 mm for E-coli and 20 mm for S-aureus and ciprofloxacin used as standard shows 36mm zone of inhibition against both E-coli and S-aureus. The comparative investigation through molecular docking binding affinities and interactions of ligands with various target proteins provides insights into the molecular processes behind ligand binding and may have significance for drug discovery and design for the current study.ConclusionThe current study suggests that C. tinctorius L.-based emulgel has good antioxidant and antibacterial activities against E. coli for the treatment of bacterial skin infections

Global, regional, and national sex-specific burden and control of the HIV epidemic, 1990-2019, for 204 countries and territories: the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019

Background: The sustainable development goals (SDGs) aim to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Understanding the current state of the HIV epidemic and its change over time is essential to this effort. This study assesses the current sex-specific HIV burden in 204 countries and territories and measures progress in the control of the epidemic. Methods: To estimate age-specific and sex-specific trends in 48 of 204 countries, we extended the Estimation and Projection Package Age-Sex Model to also implement the spectrum paediatric model. We used this model in cases where age and sex specific HIV-seroprevalence surveys and antenatal care-clinic sentinel surveillance data were available. For the remaining 156 of 204 locations, we developed a cohort-incidence bias adjustment to derive incidence as a function of cause-of-death data from vital registration systems. The incidence was input to a custom Spectrum model. To assess progress, we measured the percentage change in incident cases and deaths between 2010 and 2019 (threshold >75% decline), the ratio of incident cases to number of people living with HIV (incidence-to-prevalence ratio threshold <0·03), and the ratio of incident cases to deaths (incidence-to-mortality ratio threshold <1·0). Findings: In 2019, there were 36·8 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 35·1–38·9) people living with HIV worldwide. There were 0·84 males (95% UI 0·78–0·91) per female living with HIV in 2019, 0·99 male infections (0·91–1·10) for every female infection, and 1·02 male deaths (0·95–1·10) per female death. Global progress in incident cases and deaths between 2010 and 2019 was driven by sub-Saharan Africa (with a 28·52% decrease in incident cases, 95% UI 19·58–35·43, and a 39·66% decrease in deaths, 36·49–42·36). Elsewhere, the incidence remained stable or increased, whereas deaths generally decreased. In 2019, the global incidence-to-prevalence ratio was 0·05 (95% UI 0·05–0·06) and the global incidence-to-mortality ratio was 1·94 (1·76–2·12). No regions met suggested thresholds for progress. Interpretation: Sub-Saharan Africa had both the highest HIV burden and the greatest progress between 1990 and 2019. The number of incident cases and deaths in males and females approached parity in 2019, although there remained more females with HIV than males with HIV. Globally, the HIV epidemic is far from the UNAIDS benchmarks on progress metrics. Funding: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Institute on Aging of the NIH

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Global variations in diabetes mellitus based on fasting glucose and haemogloblin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but may identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening had elevated FPG, HbA1c, or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardised proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed, and detected in survey screening, ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the agestandardised proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global gap in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance.peer-reviewe

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Effect of Blended Learning on Students’ Achievement in English writing skills at Elementary Level

The main aim of this research was to analyze the effects of the blended learning on students’ achievement in English at elementary level. Furthermore, the others’ objectives of the study were to find out the effect of blended leaning on the academic achievement of students in the subject of English with respect to pretest and posttest and to analyze the difference in the performance of students taught using blended learning and conventional instructional strategies in English. This study was experimental in nature and quasi experimental pre-test post-test was used as a design study, therefore, All female students enrolled in elementary class of 7th grade in school of Tehsil Multan were selected or taken as population. But, two intact / preexisting sections of grade 7th into Govt. Girls Comprehensive High School Multan having 140 students were selected as sample of study. One section with 70 students (Experimental group) was taught using blended learning model .While the other section with 70 students (Control group) received instructions with conventional methods. The data was obtained on the basis of pretest and posttest method. The data was analyzed by SPSS and by applying descriptive analysis techniques of independent t-test and paired sampling test. It was concluded that significant differences occurred in experimental group students’ academic achievement level who received instructions with blended learning method. More ever, findings of the study suggest that the use of blended learning has a positive effect on English learner. Finally, this study provides the valuable implications for teachers, school administrators and policy makers to improve academic performance of English learners