Assessment of student’s academic achievements in online and face-to-face learning in higher education

During the current emergency of Pandemic disease of Covid-19, the importance of online learning strategy has much increased due to closure of schools, colleges and universities in most part of the globe. To evaluate the effectiveness of online learning, a statistical study has been conducted on the academic achievements of postgraduate students learned by online versus face-to-face learning modes. The statistical analysis of academic achievements of postgraduate students has been done by SPSS-20 statistical tool. The t-test analysis showed that the t-value was 0.549 and p-value was 0.583. The significance level for t-test analysis was 0.05. As, the p-value was more that 0.05 (p˃0.05) so, no significant relation has been found in the academic achievements of the students learned by online and face to face modes of learning. The null hypothesis (Ho) was proved true and the alternative hypothesis (H1) rejected. The reasons for no significant relation were abruptly shifting of learning modes from face-to-face to online, slow working of LMS accounts due to over burden, login and voice problems during the online classes. Overall, the students performed better in the online modes of learning. Some students performed good in face-to-face learning and performed poor in online modes of learning. So, to generalize, it is necessary to do more research on online modes of learning under regional contextPeer Reviewe

Socio-Cultural Determinants of Women’s Homelessness: A Study of Dar-ul-Aman, Multan

Home is an integral element of the Pakistani family system, and the idea of home is deeply embedded in Pakistani women’s consciousness. The prime objective of this study is to explore the socio-cultural factors responsible for women’s homelessness. This study highlights various determinants that lead women to leave their homes. The issue of women fleeing from their homes is a matter of disregard in Pakistan’s culture, such an action is considered as an issue of family’s self-image, respect, and honour. In the present study, Marxist and feminist lenses have been used to indicate women’s secondary status that is responsible for their homelessness. Interviews of twenty-five women were conducted in Government Dar-ul-Aman[1]Multan, Pakistan. Purposive sampling was used to select the respondents. The age range of informants was 14 to 55. All married, unmarried and single women, widows and divorcees were part of the sample. Analysis was conducted following the assortment of information from the field thematic analysis. This study uncovers the variables liable for women\u27s displacement like gender-based violence, which is an intense issue globally and has a significant role in the secondary status of women in Pakistan. Some other important factors like poor financial status, forced marriages, absence of education, parents’ discriminatory behaviour and various kinds of violence affect women physically, socially and emotionally [1] Dar-ul-Aman is an asylum that provides refuge, protection and security to homeless women

Hypertension Frequency, Risk Factors and Therapeutic Dimensions in Primitive and Urban Areas

More than a quarter of all clinical direness/crises were hypertensive emergencies (76 percent urgencies, 24 percent crises). Hypertensive urgencies are frequently associated with migraine (22%), epistaxis (17%), faintness, and motor coordination discord (10%), while hypertensive crises are frequently associated with chest pain (27%), dyspnea (22%), and neurological deficit (22%). (21percent ). This study employed a cross-sectional design to look for differences in hypertension patients and related risk factors among Pakistan's rural and urban populations. Adult respondents experience 12 percent, 30 percent, 10%, and 9 percent of related illnesses, while female patients reported 20 percent, 22 percent, 9 percent, 17 percent, 31 percent, and 13 percent for DM, Cardiovascular Disease, Renal Disease, The certain Previous Surgical intervention, Hormonal changes, and hypertension in pregnancy, respectively. True hypotheses are related to research. All medical professionals, particularly doctors, should inform their patients about these risk factors and assist them in adopting lifestyle adjustments

Impact of a community-based perinatal and newborn preventive care package on perinatal and neonatal mortality in a remote mountainous district in Northern Pakistan

Background: There is limited evidence from community-based interventions to guide the development of effective maternal, perinatal and newborn care practices and services in developing countries. We evaluated the impact of a low-cost package of community-based interventions implemented through government sector lady health workers (LHWs) and community health workers (CHWs) of a NGO namely Aga Khan Health Services on perinatal and neonatal outcomes in a sub-population of the remote mountainous district of Gilgit, Northern Pakistan. Methods: The package was evaluated using quasi experimental design included promotion of antenatal care, adequate nutrition, skilled delivery and healthy newborn care practices. Control areas continued to receive the routine standard health services. The intervention areas received intervention package in addition to the routine standard health services. Outcome measures included changes in maternal and newborn-care practices and perinatal and neonatal mortality rates between the intervention and control areas. Results: The intervention was implemented in a population of 283324 over a 18 months period. 3200 pregnant women received the intervention. Significant improvements in antenatal care (92% vs 76%, p \u3c .001), TT vaccination (67% vs 47%, p \u3c .001), institutional delivery (85% vs 71%, p \u3c .001), cord application (51% vs 71%, p \u3c .001), delayed bathing (15% vs 43%, p \u3c .001), colostrum administration (83% vs 64%, p \u3c .001), and initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour after birth (55% vs 40%, p \u3c .001) were seen in intervention areas compared with control areas. Our results indicate significant reductions in mortality rates in intervention areas as compared to control areas from baseline in perinatal mortality rate (from 47.1 to 35.3 per 1000 births, OR 0.62; 95% CI: 0.56-0.69; P 0.02) and neonatal mortality rates (from 26.0 to 22.8 per 1000 live births, 0.58; 95% CI: 0.48-0.68; P 0.03). Conclusions: The implementation of a set of low cost community-based intervention package within the health system settings in a mountainous region of Pakistan was found to be both feasible and beneficial. The interventions had a significant impact in reduction of the burden of perinatal and neonatal mortality

Effect and feasibility of district level scale up of maternal, newborn and child health interventions in Pakistan: A quasi-experimental study

Introduction: Pakistan has a high burden of maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality. Several factors including weak scale-up of evidence-based interventions within the existing health system; lack of community awareness regarding health conditions; and poverty contribute to poor outcomes. Deaths and morbidity are largely preventable if a combination of community and facility-based interventions are rolled out at scale.Methods and analysis: Umeed-e-Nau (UeN) (New Hope) project aims is to improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) in eight high-burden districts of Pakistan by scaling up of evidence-based interventions. The project will assess interventions focused on, first, improving the quality of MNCH care at primary level and secondary level. Second, interventions targeting demand generation such as community mobilisation, creating awareness of healthy practices and expanding coverage of outreach services will be evaluated. Third, we will also evaluate interventions targeting the improvement in quality of routine health information and promotion of use of the data for decision-making. Hypothesis of the project is that roll out of evidence-based interventions at scale will lead to at least 20% reduction in perinatal mortality and 30% decrease in diarrhoea and pneumonia case fatality in the target districts whereas two intervention groups will serve as internal controls. Monitoring and evaluation of the programme will be undertaken through conducting periodical population level surveys and quality of care assessments. Descriptive and multivariate analytical methods will be used for assessing the association between different factors, and difference in difference estimates will be used to assess the impact of the intervention on outcomes.Ethics and dissemination: The ethics approval was obtained from the Aga Khan University Ethics Review Committee. The findings of the project will be shared with relevant stakeholders and disseminated through open access peer-reviewed journal articles

Health care preferences for children with typhoid fever in two slum communities in Karachi, Pakistan.

This study examined health care preferences and influences in response to initial and persistent symptoms of typhoid fever among children in two slum communities in Karachi, Pakistan. Typhoid fever in this area is endemic and has a high rate of multi-drug resistantce. The study involved a household survey of 502 respondents. Private practitioners, including qualified medical specialists, were the preferred providers for initial symptoms, with government and private hospitals preferred for continuing symptoms. A number of cases continued to select initial health care choices regardless of the severity of symptoms. The findings point to factors of cost, access to care, previous use of a provider and perceived quality of care as key influences regarding health care choices. These findings suggest that cases of typhoid fever in these communities are at risk for not receiving appropriate diagnoses and treatment for children who are at risk for severe cases of multi-drug resistant disease. Suggestions are made for improving the care of children with typhoid in this context

A review of friction performance of lubricants with nano additives

: It has been established in literature that nanoparticle’s addition in lubricants at optimum con-centration results in lower coefficient of friction as compared to lubricants with no nanoparticle additive. This review paper shows a comparison of different lubricants based on COF (Coefficient of Friction) with nano additives. The effect of nanoparticle addition on friction coefficient is an-alyzed for both synthetic and biolubricants separately. The limitations associated with the use of nanoparticles are explained. The mechanisms responsible for the friction reduction, when nano-particles are used as additive are also discussed. Various nanoparticles that are most widely used in recent years and have shown good performance with lubricants include CuO (Copper Oxide), MoS2 (Molybdenum disulfide) and TiO2 (Titanium Dioxide). The paper also indicates some research gaps which need to be addressed

Screening of marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) cultivars for drought stress based on vegetative and physiological characteristics

Drought tolerance is an important genotypic character to be exploited for the plant cultivar selection under water deficit conditions. In the recent study, we examined the response of two marigold cultivars (Inca and Bonanza) under different regimes of drought stress. The aim was to determine the best performing cultivar under water/drought stress. Three irrigation treatments include; 4 days (T1), 6 days (T2) and 8 days (T3) in comparison to control 1 day (T0) interval were imposed. Response characters under study were morphological, physiological and anatomical. Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with four replications in two factorial arrangements was followed for experiment layout. The results revealed that increasing water stress adversely affect plant height, in both cultivars. Both cultivars showed a decreasing trend to the number of flowers under water stress. Total chlorophyll contents including a, b were also showed reduction under prolonged drought treatment in both cultivars from (2.7 mg g-1 FW) to (1 mg g-1 FW). Overall, the performance of cultivar (cv.) Inca was satisfactory under water stress regimes. These results are helpful for selecting drought tolerant marigold cultivars in water scarce areas.  Â

Impact of service provision platforms on maternal and newborn health in conflict areas and their acceptability in Pakistan: a systematic review

Various models and strategies have been implemented over the years in different parts of the world to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH) in conflict affected areas. These strategies are based on specific needs and acceptability of local communities. This paper has undertaken a systematic review of global and local (Pakistan) information from conflict areas on platforms of health service provision in the last 10 years and information on acceptability from local stakeholders on effective models of service delivery; and drafted key recommendations for improving coverage of health services in conflict affected areas. The literature search revealed ten studies that described MNH service delivery platforms. The results from the systematic review showed that with utilisation of community outreach services, the greatest impacts were observed in skilled birth attendance and antenatal consultation rates. Facility level services, on the other hand, showed that labour room services for an internally displaced population (IDP) improved antenatal care coverage, contraceptive prevalence rate and maternal mortality. Consultative meetings and discussions conducted in Quetta and Peshawar (capitals of conflict affected provinces) with relevant stakeholders revealed that no systematic models of MNH service delivery, especially tailored for conflict areas, are available. During conflict, even previously available services and infrastructure suffered due to various barriers specific to times of conflict and unrest. A number of barriers that hinder MNH services were discussed. Suggestions for improving MNH services in conflict areas were also laid down by participants. The review identified some important steps that can be undertaken to mitigate the effects of conflict on MNH services, which include: improve provision and access to infrastructure and equipment; development and training of healthcare providers; and advocacy at different levels for free access to healthcare services and for the introduction of the programme model in existing healthcare system. The obligation is enormous, however, for a sustainable programme, it is important to work closely with both the IDP and host community, and collaborating with the government and non-government organisations

Impact of maternal respiratory infections on low birth weight - a community based longitudinal study in an urban setting in Pakistan

Background: The health of mothers and their newborns is intricately related. The weight of the infant at birth is a powerful predictor of infant growth and survival, and is considered to be partly dependent on maternal health and nutrition during pregnancy. We conducted a longitudinal study in an urban community within Karachi to determine maternal predictors of newborn birth weight.Methods: Four hundred pregnant women were enrolled in the study during the period 2011-2013. Data related to symptoms of acute respiratory illness (fever, cough, difficulty breathing, runny nose, sore throat, headache, chills, and myalgia/lethargy) in the pregnant women were collected weekly until delivery. Birth weight of the newborn was recorded within 14days of delivery and the weight of \u3c 2.5kg was classified as low birth weight (LBW).Results: A total of 9,853 symptom episodes were recorded of fever, cough, difficulty breathing, runny nose, sore throat, headache, chills, myalgias/lethargy in the enrolled pregnant women during the study. Out of 243 pregnant women whose newborns were weighed within 14days of birth, LBW proportion was 21% (n=53). On multivariate analysis, independent significant risk factors noted for delivering LBW babies were early pregnancy weight of \u3c 57.5kg [odds ratio adjusted (ORadj)=5.1, 95% CI: (1.3, 19.9)] and gestational age [ORadj=0.3, 95% CI (0.2, 0.7) for every one week increase in gestational age]. Among mothers with high socioeconomic status (SES), every 50-unit increase in the number of episodes of respiratory illness/100weeks of pregnancy had a trend of association with an increased risk of delivering LBW infants [ORadj=1.7, 95% CI: (1.0, 3.1)]. However, among mothers belonging to low SES, there was no association of the number of episodes of maternal respiratory illness during pregnancy with infants having LBW [ORadj=0.9, 95% CI: (0.5, 3.5)].CONCLUSIONS: While overall respiratory illnesses during pregnancy did not impact newborn weight in our study, we found this trend in the sub-group of mothers belonging to the higher SES. Whether this is because in mothers belonging to lower SES, the effects of respiratory illnesses were overshadowed by other risk factors associated with poverty need to be further studied