Female Political Power and the Complexity of Social Barriers in Pakistan

Women constitute half of the world’s population; however, they are seldom represented according to their numbers. This underrepresentation is prevalent in all socio-economic aspects and in societies across the world. Irrespective of geographical location, women continue to be discriminated, especially in the political domain. This paper has deployed quantitative techniques, based on secondary data of independent sources. It is to check the actual level of female political participation in Pakistan, since independence. The level of female political participation in Pakistan union-council to upper-house (Senate) is studied in comparison with other nations in Asia and the world. It is even at the eve of Pakistan’s 70th anniversary, women are restricted to education and health sectors only, whereas, in the political arena societal factors, cultural taboos, and religious misinterpretation are found to be the main hurdles. Also, the persistent patriarchal mindset in the social system remains the underlying belief for low levels of female political participation

Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Narrative and Non-Traditional (Holistic) Security Paradigm with Civic Engagement

The woes of terrorism and extremism pose a threat to the stability, economic development and human growth of nations. It, therefore, remains a serious concern for the state to rethink its strategies towards bringing stability. This paper, on deploying content analysis technique, explores the traditional security paradigm as a state-centric approach under the diverse concept of security. The non-traditional approaches; Buzan’s holistic perspective of a national security complex, Mehbub-ul-Haq’s human security notion and Mohammed Ayoob’s concept of weak state, are scrutinized to study the actual and potential role of civic engagement towards constructing an effective counter-terrorism narrative of Pakistan. It is established that due civic engagement has the potential to counter the extreme dogmas through collaborative efforts at home. It can also address the wrong perception about Pakistan’s inefficient counter-terror measures at the regional and global level

IgG4-Related Orbital Disease: An Analysis of Patient Profiles, Clinical Presentation, And Histopathological Features

Objective: To study various presentations of patients with a histopathologically confirmed diagnosis of IgG4 disease. Methods: This study is a retrospective review of medical records from the IgG4-RD registry at the Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital. Nine patients with orbital manifestations were identified. All had histopathologically confirmed diagnoses of IgG4-RD. Data obtained from the medical records included patient demographic information (name, age, gender), brief patient history, clinical presentation, histopathology reports, and diagnoses. Results: Most patients presented with proptosis and swelling in various parts of the orbital area. Some patients also presented with pain and diplopia. The most common orbital structures involved were the lacrimal gland and the extraocular muscles, with some patients also having soft tissue involvement. 4(44%) patients had bilateral orbital involvement, while the remaining 5(55%) had unilateral disease. Conclusion: Ophthalmic involvement is a feature of IgG4-RD and has significant implications regarding the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of patients with IgG4 disease

Global variation of COVID-19 mortality rates in the initial phase

Objective: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused devastation in over 200 countries. Italy, Spain, and the United States (US) were most severely affected by the first wave of the pandemic. The reasons why some countries were more strongly affected than others remain unknown. We identified the most-affected and less-affected countries and states and explored environmental, host, and infrastructure risk factors that may explain differences in the SARS-CoV-2 mortality burden.Methods: We identified the top 10 countries/US states with the highest deaths per population until May 2020. For each of these 10 case countries/states, we identified 6 control countries/states with a similar population size and at least 3 times fewer deaths per population. We extracted data for 30 risk factors from publicly available, trusted sources. We compared case and control countries/states using the non-parametric Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and conducted a secondary cluster analysis to explore the relationship between the number of cases per population and the number of deaths per population using a scalable EM (expectation-maximization) clustering algorithm.Results: Statistically significant differences were found in 16 of 30 investigated risk factors, the most important of which were temperature, neonatal and under-5 mortality rates, the percentage of under-5 deaths due to acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and diarrhea, and tuberculosis incidence (p \u3c 0.05).Conclusion: Countries with a higher burden of baseline pediatric mortality rates, higher pediatric mortality from preventable diseases like diarrhea and ARI, and higher tuberculosis incidence had lower rates of coronavirus disease 2019-associated mortality, supporting the hygiene hypothesis

Female Political Power and the Complexity of Social Barriers in Pakistan

Women constitute half of the world’s population; however, they are seldom represented according to their numbers. This underrepresentation is prevalent in all socio-economic aspects and in societies across the world. Irrespective of geographical location, women continue to be discriminated, especially in the political domain. This paper has deployed quantitative techniques, based on secondary data of independent sources. It is to check the actual level of female political participation in Pakistan, since independence. The level of female political participation in Pakistan union-council to upper-house (Senate) is studied in comparison with other nations in Asia and the world. It is even at the eve of Pakistan’s 70th anniversary, women are restricted to education and health sectors only, whereas, in the political arena societal factors, cultural taboos, and religious misinterpretation are found to be the main hurdles. Also, the persistent patriarchal mindset in the social system remains the underlying belief for low levels of female political participation

Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Narrative and Non-Traditional (Holistic) Security Paradigm with Civic Engagement

The woes of terrorism and extremism pose a threat to the stability, economic development and human growth of nations. It, therefore, remains a serious concern for the state to rethink its strategies towards bringing stability. This paper, on deploying content analysis technique, explores the traditional security paradigm as a state-centric approach under the diverse concept of security. The non-traditional approaches; Buzan’s holistic perspective of a national security complex, Mehbub-ul-Haq’s human security notion and Mohammed Ayoob’s concept of weak state, are scrutinized to study the actual and potential role of civic engagement towards constructing an effective counter-terrorism narrative of Pakistan. It is established that due civic engagement has the potential to counter the extreme dogmas through collaborative efforts at home. It can also address the wrong perception about Pakistan’s inefficient counter-terror measures at the regional and global level

Frequency And Unusual Clinical Manifestation Of Orbital Xanthogranulomas: An Overview

Objective: To assess the frequency and clinical characteristics of orbital xanthogranulomas, focusing on their unusual presentations and impact on bone structure in a South Asian population. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The study included patients diagnosed with orbital xanthogranulomas between July 2001 and July 2023. The variables collected included patient demographics (age, gender), presenting symptoms, duration of symptoms before presentation, clinical features, diagnostic modalities used (e.g., CT scans, histopathology), treatment modalities, and follow-up outcomes. Results: Between July 2001 and July 2023, 1250 orbital lesions were identified. Out of these, a total of 6 patients were diagnosed with orbital xanthogranuloma. The presenting symptoms for these 6 patients included proptosis in 5 cases, loss of vision in 5 cases, and redness of the eyes in 1 case. In four patients, bony erosions were seen preoperatively. The most commonly involved bone was the roof of the orbit. In one patient, osteosclerosis of the knee and elbow joint was reported. The mean duration of symptoms before presentation was 1.8 years, ranging from 3 months to 5 years. The mean age at presentation was 38 years (range, 3 – 70 years). Recurrence was seen in only one patient. Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings indicate that orbital xanthogranulomas, while rare, constitute a noteworthy proportion of lesions with bony erosions. These tumours manifest with diverse clinical features, complications, and systemic associations, making them complex to diagnose and manage effectively

Improvement in Neuropathy Specific Quality of Life in Patients with Diabetes after Vitamin D Supplementation

Objective. To assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on neuropathy specific quality of life (NeuroQoL) in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy. Methods. This prospective, open label study was conducted between June 2012 and April 2013. Patients with symptomatic diabetic neuropathy were given a single dose of 600,000 IU intramuscular vitamin D, and NeuroQol was assessed at baseline and at five follow-up visits every 4 weeks. Results. Of 143 participants, 41.3% were vitamin D deficient (vitamin D < 20 ng/ml). Treatment with vitamin D resulted in a significant increase in 25(OH)D (P<0.0001) and a significant improvement in the NeuroQoL subscale score for emotional distress (P=0.04), with no significant change in the other NeuroQoL domains of painful symptoms and paresthesia, loss of temperature and touch sensation, unsteadiness, limitation in daily activities, and interpersonal problems. There was a significant reduction in patient perception about foot problems on QoL of “quite a lot” (P<0.05) and “very much” (P<0.0001) with a significant reduction in the baseline response of having a “poor” QoL from 5.2% to 0.7% (P<0.0001) and an increase in the response of an “excellent QoL” from 1.5% to 7.4% (P<0.0001). Conclusion. Vitamin D is effective in improving quality of life in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy

EVALUATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS (NPSTS)

The major purpose of conducting this research study was to gauge secondary school teachers' pedagogical practices according to the rubrics and competencies defined in the National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPSTs) document. The main objectives of the study were (a) to study the current status of teachers' pedagogical practices in Punjab (b) to gauge secondary school teachers’ pedagogical practices through rubrics associated with NPSTs and (c) to recommend certain measure for the betterment of teacher pedagogical practices in the classroom. This observational study was descriptive type research which was conducted in a real setting. 453 secondary school teachers from the province of Punjab were selected through multi-stage sampling techniques. An observation checklist with defined rubrics was developed. Based on the analysis of data, it was observed that very few of the secondary school teachers had attained the level the competence in using different pedagogies while different subjects. Most of the secondary school teachers were teaching subjects with the same teaching methods and were fall under the category of emerging teachers