Immunisation programmes in Sindh and Balochistan desperately need a shot in the arm

Pakistan has a high infant mortality rate, which is linked to low levels of immunisation. There is an urgent need for coordination among institutes for reducing demand and supply gaps in enhancing immunisation coverage nationally write Ghamz E Ali Siyal and Shahbaz Tufail

The Empirical Investigation of Knowledge Hiding and In-role Behavior

This research was intended to investigate the connection between Knowledge Hiding and In-role Behavior. The relationship between independent and dependent variables was calculated by the Pearson correlation and simple regression analysis. The data was randomly collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 129 staff working in private sector universities.  This was a cross-sectional analysis and the findings showed that Knowledge Hiding negatively affect the in-role behavior of employees (r = 41.6, β = -.645, t = 9.51, p < 0.005). The results of this study suggested that universities need to focus on the Knowledge Hiding Behavior of employees in order to achieve their objectives and improve quality

Frequency and Etiology of Community-Acquired Bloodstream Infection in Hospitalized Febrile Children

Background: Blood stream infection is a serious problem that needs immediate attention and treatment. We aim to identify the frequency of common organisms in blood culture of febrile pediatric patients so that empirical antibiotic therapy can be started timely.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in pediatric ward Civil Hospital Sukkur from 1st May 2013 to 31st October 2014. Children of both genders who are between the age of one month to 15 years admitted to the pediatric ward with a fever of \u3e 38.0 c and with a history of fever ˃ two days and whose blood culture has been sent were included in this study. Informed consent was taken prior to enrollment. The patient’s blood culture was taken under aseptic technique. Samples were sent to microbiology lab civil hospital Sukkur. 1st culture on admission to be taken to avoid confounding with hospital-acquired the infection. The frequency of organisms grown in the culture was documented.Results: The median age of enrolled participants was 48.5 (46.6) months, 153 (38.5%) were male and 158 (61.5%) were the female and median weight of enrolled participants was 15.9 (9.7) kg. Overall, 178 (69.3%) cases had a history of prior antibiotic use; blood cultures sent within 24 hours were 117 (45.5%) cases. Twenty-two (8.4%) cases were positive. Six were positive for Salmonella typhi cases followed by E. coli.Conclusions: It was concluded from this study that the frequency of community acquired blood stream infection was 7.6%. Salmonella typhi, E. coli were found to be common pathogens

Vaccination Status and Factors for Non- Vaccination in Children at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Immunization is a very effective strategy to prevent against common infectious disease. The objectives of the study were to determine the immunization status and reasons for non-vaccination of children coming to Civil Hospital Sukkur. This cross-sectional study was conducted pediatric OPD at Civil Hospital Sukkur from January 1, 2013, to June 30, 2013. Parents of children under five years of age brought their child to Outpatient Department of Civil Hospital Sukkur for any illness were asked to participate in the study. Parents who gave informed consent were included in the study. Data were collected using a small questionnaire by the researcher himself. A total of 500 parents gave consent to participate in the study. The average age of children was 20.4±16.3 months, 257 (51.4%) were males and 243 (48.6%) were females. Four hundred and four (80.4%) children were fully vaccinated and 98 (19.6%) were not vaccinated. Parents don’t know about immunization, busy parents, illness of a child, fear of immunization and parents who are not considering immunization as important are independent factors of non-vaccination

Use of Chorionic Villous Sampling for Prenatal Diagnosis of Beta Thalassaemia: Attitudes and Practices of Parents

To assess the attitudes and practices of parents of Beta-Thalassaemia Major children regarding Chorionic Villous Sampling (CVS), as prenatal diagnosis in subsequent pregnancies.Methods: In this cross-sectional study a pre-designed questionnaire was used to evaluate the socio-demographic profile and attitudes of parents of 210 registered thalassaemic children, regarding CVS.Only those parents who had one or more pregnancies after the index case were included in the study. Results were entered and analyzed on SPSS version 20.Results: After the index case, 36.2% parents underwent CVS in all subsequent pregnancies . The common reasons not to utilize this facility were lack of knowledge (47.7%), careless attitude (41.7%), family pressure (4.4%) and financial issues (1.5%). Religious reason was not found in any of the cases. Majority of the families (54.3%) belonged to lower middle class financial status. There was a significant association between CVS practice and educational level of the mother and genetic counselling at the time of diagnosis of index case. In future pregnancies, 52.8% parents had no planning, while 15.7% showed interest in undergoing CVS in next pregnancies.Conclusion: Despite the availability of CVS in the country, very few families had opted for it; the major reasons being lack of knowledge, careless attitude and family pressure. As against the common thought, religious reason was not a significant factor

Proposed Integrated System for Library Services and Online Education: A Pakistani Perspective

Purpose: Education is the basic need of each community member and educational institutions play a vital role in the development of any community and country as a whole. Also, libraries plays significant role in educating people or fulfilling educational needs of the society members. COVID-19 pandemic affects all sectors of life including educational institutes. However, libraries play dramatic role in the delivery of electronic services like e-thesis, e-books, e-research articles and virtual reference. The proposed study will provide a step-by-step guideline to individual researchers, research organizations, educational assessments organizations, government departments and policy development departments to plan and execute such innovative projects for the betterment of the educational system in the country. Similarly, libraries will get benefit to engage officially in providing e-services to community members. Through this proposed proposal the researchers may be able to identify the current status of educational institutions and their libraries in Pakistan in terms of educational institutions\u27 and their libraries strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the delivery of online educational programs and e-services of libraries during COVID-19 pandemic or in such other accidental situations. Research Methodology: The proposed study will be conducted through Explanatory Sequential Mixed Method Research to meet study objectives. Practical Implications: The proposed study will help in identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to online educational programs and e-services of libraries. Also, propose suggestions to educational institutions and libraries on the basis of identified strengths and opportunities for their better utilization. Similarly, it will identify the issues like weaknesses and threats to online educational programs and libraries in universities and will propose strategies for covering such deficiencies for the smooth delivery of online education and library online services while utilizing the existing resources. Also, benchmarking other developed organizations and may introduce resource sharing modules among the different organizations to overcome less developed organizations\u27 deficiencies while utilizing developed organizations existing resources

Does more immigration lead to more violent and property crimes? A case study of 30 selected OECD countries

In many developed countries around the world, the connection between immigration and crime has been a subject of discussion. The indigenous populations of the most advanced nations usually held the opinion that immigration fuels delinquency. Therefore, this paper provides an empirical connection between immigration and crime in the period 1988-2018 across 30 OECD countries. For empirical analysis, advanced panel econometric approaches are used which can address both heterogonous coefficients and cross-section dependency. The findings show that no statistical evidence exists to relate an increase in the number of immigrants to the rise of any kind of crime. If there is we found a significant negative association between immigrants and only one of the six kinds of crime studied. Moreover, an increase in foreign prisoners (FP) reduces all kinds of crimes. While an increase in the real gross domestic product (RGDP) only increases property crimes. The increase in M25–29 only increases serious assault (SA) out of six crime types analysed

Subcutaneous Lipoma Mimicking Irreducible Inguinal Hernia

Inguinal or groin region is an area of diagnostic mysteries. It is usually associated with a painless or painful swellings. Swellings in this area can be congenital or acquired, acute or chronic, single or multiple, soft to hard, mobile to immobile and appear suddenly or gradually. Commonest swelling in this region is a  simple direct or indirect inguinal hernia in children and adults with a positive cough impulse. The next common lump is a femoral hernia, hydrocoele, sebaceous cyst or an enlarged reactive or malignant lymph node. Other uncommon Differential diagnosis includes ectopic testes, funiculitis, femoral artery aneurysm, pseudoaneurysm, hidradenitis, epididymitis, varicocele and abscess. Subcutaneous lipoma is a rare condition which can mimic a diagnosis of irreducible indirect inguinal hernia and other diagnostic problems for the attending physicians. We present a case of groin lipoma mimicking irreducible right sided indirect inguinal hernia in young healthy man

Urease Inhibitor Application Stages and Nitrogen Levels Influenced on Morpo-Phenological Traits of Wheat Cultivars

A field trial was carried out at New Developmental Farm of The University Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during winter 2012-13, in order to study the urease inhibitor application stages and nitrogen levels influenced on morpo-phenological traits of wheat cultivars. Therefore the field experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement having four replications.  Nitrogen levels (60, 120 and 150 kg ha-1) and urease inhibitor  stages (100% sowing stage, 50% sowing stage + 50% booting stage and 100% booting stage) were allotted to main plots, while  wheat cultivars (Siran and Atta Habib)  were allotted to sub plots.  Plots treated with 120 kg N ha-1 took maximum days to booting (128), improved plant height (97.9 cm), leaf area tiller-1 (117.8 cm2), spike length (11.3 cm) and biological yield (10382 kg ha-1) but maximum (185) days to maturity  was observed when plots treated with 150 kg N ha-1 as compared with control plots. Application of urease inhibitor 100% at sowing stage took maximum booting (133) days, maturity (186) days, improved plant height (102 cm), leaf area tiller-1 (128 cm2), spike length (11.6 cm) and biological yield (11386 kg ha-1) as compared with urease application 100% at booting stage. Wheat cultivar Siran had significantly took maximum booting (123) days, maturity (178) days, plant height (94.5 cm), leaf area tiller-1 (97.6 cm2), spike length (10.3 cm) and biological yield (9331 kg ha-1) as compared to Atta Habib. Hence cultivar Siran treated with 120 kg N ha-1 and coated urease inhibitor 100% at sowing stage produced the best results in terms of plant height, leaf area tiller-1, physiological maturity and biological yield. Keywords: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), urease inhibitor application stages, nitrogen levels, wheat cultivars, phenology, morpholog