Knowledge and trends of caffeine consumption Among medical and non medical students of Lahore Pakistan

To determine the rate of the caffeine consumption among students and to assess side effects and benefits of the caffeine among medical and non-medical students. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was included medical and non-medical students of various institutes of Lahore. The study duration was three months from May 2014 to July 2014. A predesigned structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the students, Consent was obtained on the form beforehand. RESULTS: Astonishingly 98.6%(74) of medical and 97.4%(73) of the Non-Medical students said that they consume caffeine in one form or another, the most popular caffeinated product turned out to be soft drinks (39%/126 responses) followed by Tea (26.5%/86 responses), coffee (20.6%/67responces) and Energy drinks (11.2%/36 Responses), other caffeinated tablets and gums etc. were consumed by 4.8% of the cases. Almost 25.7%(73 responses) of the students said that they consumed caffeine while studying for exams and 20%(58 Responses) consume it when they have a headache, 19%(54 responses) when they are out with friends, 9.5%(27) when driving for long distances,9.9%(28) while at work,18.5%(25) consumed it when they didn\u27t get enough sleep,60%(90) of the student select a specific caffeine product because of its taste, 8.7%(13) on the basis of affordability and price, 6.7%(10) on the basis of amount of caffeine, and 5.3%(8) on the basis of quality, 11%(17) had no special preference. Almost 44.7%(67) students consumed 0-1 caffeine product per day, 44%(66) consumed 2-3products per day, 7.3%(11) consumed 3-5 products per day and 2%(3) consumed 5 or more.62%(93) of students said that their caffeine consumption has increased since they entered the college or university due to increased study load as the main reason (45.3%) also peer pressure was a significant cause (11.3%). As far as knowledge was concerned, 46%(35) of medical students were categorized as having high knowledge of caffeine. Whereas 25%(19) of non-medical students were categorized as having high knowledge about caffeine. CONCLUSION: Most Students consume more caffeine during exams and other periods of strenuous activities and most of them do not think that caffeine can be addicting. The Percentage of medical and non-medical students consuming caffeine is 98.6 and 97.3 percent respectively. Most popular product is soft drinks and cause of increase consumption is increased academic burden. KEY WORDS: Caffeine, CNS Stimulants, Methyl xanthine, Medical students, Peer Pressure, Soft Drink

High Involvement Management and Employees Performance Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to augment the existing literature on the relationship between high involvement management and Employee job performance with the mediating effect of job satisfaction in the banking sector. Based on the available literature a conceptual framework was designed to study the relationship. The conceptual framework is composed on independent variable high involvement management practices, dependent variable employee performance and the mediating variable job satisfaction. Adopted questionnaires of (Takeuchi et al., 2007, (Judge, 2006) and (Hochwarter, 2006) for measuring High Involvement Management, Job Satisfaction and Individual Employee Job Performance respectively were used to collect the data. Overall the response rate was 71.3%. Correlation analysis, simple linear regression and step wise regression were used to test out the hypotheses. Results obtained were consistent with the previous research studies conducted i.e. there was a strong association of high involvement management with employees performance and similarly job satisfaction was having significant relationship with employee performance. Similarly from the regression analysis the effect of independent variable was found significant on mediator as well as dependent variable. Moreover full mediation was predicted from stepwise regression. The study has investigated the relationship as well as the level of employees performance, job satisfaction and high involvement management practices was calculated which shows the current performance of the organization, hence this research study can be used as a guide, for the management of the banking sector, to utilize its findings in order to stress the problems of employees and increase their productivity. Key words : performance management, job satisfaction, High involvement managemen

Correlation functions for extended mass galaxy clusters

The phenomenon of clustering of galaxies on the basis of correlation functions in an expanding Universe is studied by using equation of state, taking gravitational interaction between galaxies of extended nature into consideration. The partial differential equation for the extended mass structures of a two-point correlation function developed earlier by Iqbal, Ahmad and Khan is studied on the basis of assigned boundary conditions. The solution for the correlation function for extended structures satisfies the basic boundary conditions, which seem to be sufficient for understanding the phenomena, and provides a new insight into the gravitational clustering problem for extended mass structures.Comment: 3 pages, no figure

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF INTRAVITREAL DICLOFENAC PLUS BEVACIZUMAB VERSUS BEVACIZUMAB ALONE IN THE TREATMENT OF NAÏVE DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effects of intra-vitreal injection Bevacizumab combined with Diclofenac-Na versus intra-vitreal Bevacizumab alone in the treatment of naïve diabetic macular edema. METHODS:  In this prospective, randomized interventional clinical trial, 40 eyes of 40 participants were enrolled for trial conducted at an Ophthalmology department of Qazi Hussain Medical Complex, Nowshera. Twenty eyes each included in the intra-vitreal Bevacizumab and bevacizumab plus diclofenac group via random sampling technique. The main outcome variable was a change in best-corrected visual acuity (BC-VA) in log MAR at 4th, 12th and 24th week. The secondary outcomes included mean change in central subfield thickness (CSFT) of macula and possible injection-related side effects. RESULTS:    Marked improvement in BC-VA was observed in both therapeutic groups (mean change in Log MAR: 0.324±0.411 and 0.562±0.388 for bevacizumab alone and combination group, respectively). The difference in BC-VA change was in favor of combination group; however, the level didn’t achieve statistical significance (p = 0.08). Significant decrease in CSFT was noted in both groups (mean reductions: 178.02 ± 166.42, 214.55 ± 132.65) for bevacizumab and combination, respectively). Comparison of CSFT changes between groups revealed that combination decreased CSFT more than bevacizumab, but the difference was statistically insignificant (p = 0.07). Neither injection related side effects nor any marked change in intraocular pressure was observed in either groups. CONCLUSION:       In diabetic macular edema, superiority of combination therapy over Bevacizumab alone was evident, esp. with regard to structural improvement in macula

Carotid artery disease in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery

OBJECTIVE: To determine frequency of carotid artery disease in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using Doppler sonography.STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Radiology Department, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2005 to September 2008. METHODOLOGY: Patients with known cardiovascular disease waiting for CABG surgery were enrolled for carotid artery Doppler sonography. A predefined data entry form was used for data collection. Coronary angiography findings, carotid artery findings and other associated factors were noted from medical and radiological records. Frequency and pattern of carotid artery disease along with associated risk factors were evaluated. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 15. Pearson chi-square for categorical and independent t test was applied for continuous variables at 95% confidence level. P-value of less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 176 patients (85% male, mean age=65 years) undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting were evaluated preoperatively for carotid artery disease by neck color Doppler sonography. Twenty percent of patients were found to have advanced carotid artery disease (\u3e 50% stenosis), 6% had critical stenosis (\u3e 75% stenosis) and 3% had complete stenosis. Frequency of atherosclerotic plaques was 50%, more common on right side and more prevalent in common carotid artery. Family background of carotid or coronary artery disease and history of smoking were significantly associated with presence of carotid artery disease (p \u3c 0.05). CONCLUSION: A sizeable proportion of patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery for coronary artery disease were found to have coexistant carotid artery disease

Effectiveness of a “Whole of Chain” Approach in Linking Farmers to Market: A Case of Pakistan Mango Market

AbstractMango is the second major fruit crop in Pakistan. The domestic retail market for mango in Pakistan is dominated by small retail shops, street hawkers, and road side stalls. The fruit sold in these retail outlets is prescribed by the traditional quality standards of size, appearance and price. However the growth of superior outlets/supermarkets chain especially in the major cities are setting additional quality standards such as blemish free, improved packaging, prestige, convenience to deliver premium quality mangoes. Similarly the export market is mainly targeted to the expatriate Pakistani consumers rather than quality conscious foreign consumers. This is because of inadequate market information and understanding all along the chain. A whole of chain approach is undertaken to improve the market understanding in an ACIAR project. Since the approach is new, a conceptual framework is developed in order to asses the effectiveness of the approach. The results indicate that the participants all along the chain would change their practices if they find the compelling reason to change in their existing businesses

Film Retakes in Digital and Conventional Radiography

Objective: To determine the film-retake rates and causes in digital radiography comparison to conventional X-rays method. Study Design: Comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Radiology Department, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2004 to December 2006. Patients and Methods: X-rays of different body parts, conducted during the year 2004, with conventional radiography (n=170300), and in 2006 with digital radiography (n=174550), were included in this study. Measurements were done for number of X-rays re-take due to different quality control reasons for both the conventional and digital radiography. Quality control reasons included underexposure, overexposure, positioning errors, patient movements, portable X-rays, grid cutoff, and others (i.e. equipment related) due to which X-ray quality was questionable. Results were expressed in percentages. Results: A total of 9423 X-rays (5.5%) were repeated in conventional radiography (n=170300) due to underexposure (38%), overexposure (28.5%), positioning errors (25%), portable procedures (4%), patient movement (2%), grid cut-off (0.5%), and others (2%). Underexposure was the most frequently responsible factor for the X-ray repetition as compared to other factors (p\u3c0.001). In digital radiography (n=174550), 1464 X-rays (1%) needed to be repeated, which was significantly less in comparison to X-ray repetition in conventional method of radiography (5.5%) [p\u3c0.001]. In digital radiography, the most frequent factor for X-ray re-take was positioning error (435, 30%). Conclusion: Digital radiography is associated with significantly lesser number of re-take X-rays as compared to conventional radiography, hence minimizes the exposure of the patients to unnecessary radiations due to re-take X-rays. Positioning error remains a problem even in digital radiography, emphasizing training need for technologists