The Impact of Online Teaching during the Coronavirus Pandemic on the Lives of Teachers and Parents

To assess the degree of stress among teachers and parents of children taking online classes during the coronavirus pandemic. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in October 2020. An online questionnaire developed on Google Forms was circulated using convenience sampling technique with a sample size of 384. The target population included teachers and parents of children taking online classes. An informed consent was taken prior to the survey. The Perceived Stress Scale was used to evaluate the stress related to online teaching. Chi square test was applied to identify associations and a p-value of less than 0.05 was taken as significant. Our sample included 414 participants with n=359 (86.7%) females and n=55 (13.3%) males. N=156 (37.7%) participants were parents and n=258 (62.3%) were teachers. Majority of the participants had moderate perceived stress with n=193 (74.8%) teachers and n=127 (81.4%) parents. Teachers felt more comfortable going back to school right now n=176 (80.7%), whereas, only n=42 (19.3%) parents felt comfortable sending their children back to school. (p-value=0.000) After the pandemic resolves, parents preferred classroom learning n=111 (44.6%) while n=113 (75.3%) teachers preferred a hybrid system with both online and classroom learning. (p-value=0.001). Majority of the teachers and parents were found to be in moderate perceived stress. An increase in working hours for teachers and increase in the required supervision time for parents were among the most common causes

Joint Family or Nuclear Family: The Youth’s Perspective

To identify the youth’s perspective regarding joint and nuclear family systems and the factors contributing to it. A cross-sectional study conducted in 2020 in Karachi. The target population was between 18 and 45 years of age with a sample size of 523. An online questionnaire was circulated through convenience sampling technique. Data was imported and analyzed in SPSS Version 20. The sample population included 523 participants with n=441(84.3%) between 18-24 years and a female predominance n=333(63.7%). N= 454 (86.8%) participants were single. More than half n=298(57%) live in a nuclear family system, whereas, 194(37.1%) live in a joint family system. Majority n=321 (61.3%) believed there is greater expectation to agree with the opinion of the head of the family in a joint family system and lesser freedom. Mixed views were reflected regarding an increased emotional and financial stability in a joint family system with 42.8% and 59.5%, respectively. The global drift from joint family systems towards nuclear family systems was also evident in our study. The younger generation prefers nuclear family systems as they feel it respects their privacy and freedom. Moreover, it also dissociates them from any family disputes and undue stress associated with it

Expectations in a Marriage Proposal: A Gender-Based Comparison in Pakistan

To determine the differences in expectations of males and females regarding marriage proposals. It was a cross-sectional study conducted in Karachi. Young people aged between 18 and 45 years were enrolled in the study. An online questionnaire was circulated through a convenience sampling technique. Our sample had 456 participants with n=294 64.5% females. N=387 84.9% were between 18-25 years of age. N=292 64% did not have a preference regarding spouse’s skin tone but n=269 59.0% preferred a taller spouse. Body type was a considerable factor for n=227 49.8%. N=309 67.8% preferred their partner to have a job, own a business and have a career. Love marriage was preferred by n=194 42.5%. Majority of the sample (58.1%) did not have a preference in terms of ethnicity but n=193 42.2% wanted a spouse from the same sect, denomination or caste. N=357 78.3% were against dowry. 52% of the participants said their choices were influenced by societal norms and culture to some extent. Four most important personality traits in a potential spouse were loyalty (75.7%), respect (62.7%), maturity (49.3%) and honesty (46.5%). The findings of this study are reflective of our community and culture as the majority of individuals are under societal influence. Moreover, their preference in traits emphasizes mutual understanding as opposed to physical characteristics. An adequate understanding of an individual's expectations from a marriage proposal decreases the risk of psychological distress associated with the relationship

Association between a single nucleotide polymorphism in neuregulin-1 and schizophrenia in Pakistani patients

Objective: To determine the association of single-nucleotide polymorphism8nrg433E1006 in the neuregulin-1 gene associated with schizophrenia.Methods: This case-control study was conducted at the Fountain House, Lahore, and the psychiatric clinics at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, from 2010 to 2013.The total genomic deoxyribonucleic acid was isolated and single-nucleotide polymorphism8nrg433E1006 was screened by nested polymerase chain reaction followed by sequencing. These sequences, from patients and controls, were aligned with the human neuregulin-1-glial growth factor 2 gene sequence, which served as a reference sequence. The single nucleotide polymorphism genetic algorithm was characterised at position 433 in the neuregulin-1 gene by aligning test and control sequences with the neuregulin-1-glial growth factor 2reference sequence using ClustalW algorithm, implemented in the BioEdit software.Results: Of the 630 samples, 321(51%) were of cases and 309(49%)of controls. Moreover, 99(30.8%) cases and 79(25.6%) controls rendered correct neuregulin-1 gene frames. Of them, the single-nucleotide polymorphism8nrg433E1006 was present in 62(62.6%) cases and 24(30.4%) controls. The analysis showed that the odds ratio of having schizophrenia is 3.8 times higher in the presence of this single-nucleotide polymorphism at the 92 bp of neuregulin-1 gene with the 95% confidence interval(p=0.0001).Conclusions: There was a strong association of single-nucleotide polymorphism8nrg433E1006 in the neuregulin-1 gene with schizophrenia

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely