Prevalence and Psychological Characterization of Smoking amongst University Students in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Purpose: To evaluate smoking, its causes, ill effects on the health and symptoms associated with smoking and smoking withdrawal among university students of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.Methods: The questionnaire based study was conducted amongst university students in Abbottabad, Pakistan during November – December, 2012. Data were collected from university students using a self-administered questionnaire through simple random sampling.Results: Most subjects (43.6 %) started smoking during college life. Out of the total, 27.2 % of the subjects were of the opinion that smoking is a bad habit, but they still continued smoking. Among them, 17.6 % started smoking to ‘feel’ like adults, 20.8 % started just to feel the experience of doing so, 17.6 % were under the bad influence of friends and 8.4 % people wanted to escape from stressful life and seek comfort in smoking. Symptoms associated with smoking were shortness of breath (22.4 %), tiredness (17.2 %), chest pain (22.8 %), sleeping problem (16.8 %) and cough (43.2 %). Moreover, symptoms associated with withdrawal include mood disturbance (16.1 %), headache (9.9 %), tiredness (7.5 %), constipation (11.3 %), dry mouth (10.4 %), sleep disturbance (6.9 %), cough (5.4 %) and study problem (9.3 %).Conclusion: Smoking habit among the university students is common and in many cases results from experimentation and feeling of adulthood. Proper education on the dangers of smoking is vital.Keywords: Psychology, Smoking, Health, Withdrawal symptoms, Counselin

Comparative Analysis of Fly Ash-based Geopolymer Concrete and Ordinary Portland Cement Concrete

In Pakistan, the high year-over-year growth in the construction industry has led to a significant increase in the cost of construction materials, particularly cement. To reduce the cost of construction, alternative materials need to be sought. In Pakistan, approximately one million tons of fly ash are generated each year from coal-fired thermal power stations. A sample of fly ash was obtained from the 125 Megawatts Coal Fired Power Station Lakhra in Khanot, Hyderabad, Sindh Pakistan.A study was conducted on fly ash-based geopolymer concrete, using test data to identify the factors that influence its properties and to develop a simple method for designing geopolymer concrete mixtures. The mix design for fly ash was carried out using the standard ACI method. Various trial mixes were prepared using arbitrary ratios of cementitious materials, fine and coarse aggregates. The compressive strength of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete was 64% and 57% for geopolymer concrete (GPC) after 7 days. At 14 days, the strength of OPC was 83% and 76% for GPC. The strength of OPC reached 97% after 28 days, while GPC reached 91%

Analysis of Unsteady Axisymmetric Squeezing Fluid Flow with Slip and No-Slip Boundaries Using OHAM

In this manuscript, An unsteady axisymmetric flow of nonconducting, Newtonian fluid squeezed between two circular plates is studied with slip and no-slip boundaries. Using similarity transformation, the system of nonlinear partial differential equations is reduced to a single fourth order ordinary differential equation. The resulting boundary value problems are solved by optimal homotopy asymptotic method (OHAM) and fourth order explicit Runge-Kutta method (RK4). It is observed that the results obtained from OHAM are in good agreement with numerical results by means of residuals. Furthermore, the effects of various dimensionless parameters on the velocity profiles are investigated graphically

Application of Daftardar Jafari Method to First Grade MHD Squeezing Fluid Flow in a Porous Medium with Slip Boundary Condition

In the present work, in the presence of magnetic field and with slip boundary condition, squeezing flow of a Newtonian fluid in a porous medium between two large parallel plates is investigated. The governing equations are transformed to a single nonlinear boundary value problem. Daftardar Jafari Method (DJM) is used to solve the problem in order to obtain the velocity profile of the fluid. By using residual of the problem, the validity of solution is established. The velocity profile is argued through graphs for various values of parameters

Lafora Disease Masquerading as Hepatic Dysfunction

Lafora disease is fatal intractable progressive myoclonic epilepsy. It is frequently characterized by epileptic seizures, difficulty walking, muscle spasms, and dementia in late childhood or adolescence. We chronicle here an unusual case of an asymptomatic young male soccer player who presented with elevated liver enzymes. Neurological examination was unremarkable. The diagnostic workup for hepatitis, infectious etiologies, autoimmune disorders, hemochromatosis, Wilson\u27s disease, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and other related diseases was inconclusive. He subsequently underwent an uneventful percutaneous liver biopsy. Based on the pathognomonic histopathological findings, Lafora disease was considered the likely etiology. The present study is a unique illustration of this rare disorder initially manifesting with abnormal liver enzymes. It underscores the importance of clinical suspicion of Lafora disease in cases with unexplained hepatic dysfunction. Prompt liver biopsy and genetic testing should be performed to antedate the onset of symptoms in these patients

A Case Study on Distribution of Gemstone in Bela Ophiolite, District Khuzdar, Balochistan

Bela Ophiolite and suture zone host several types of gemstones in the underlain and overlain rocks such as garnet (demantoid and almandine), quartz, brucite, malachite, chrysocolla, azurite, calcite, natrolite, green chert, jasper, serpentine, agate, epidote, augite and prehnite. However, the rare gemstones including demantoid garnet are found as dodecahedron green crystals associated with the altered peridotite rocks such as serpentinite. Brucite is found in the botryoidal habit in the ultramafic rocks of Bela Ophiolite associated with the chromite mines in the Baran Lak and Amorzai area of Wadh in the host rock dunite. The serpentine is found in several locations associated with the altered ultramafic rocks formed after the serpentinization of peridotite. Furthermore, one of the rare gemstones such as petroleum and diamond quartz is formed due to the hydrothermal intrusion in the sedimentary rocks such as limestone; calcite also occurs in limestone as dogtooth crystals. While azurite, malachite and chrysocolla are formed as secondary deposits in the oxidized zone of copper and sulphide mines in the Manjawi, Nal and Sonaro associated adjacent to basalt. Moreover, epidote is found as green crystals having porphyritic texture in the host rock granite mainly in the Bakhalo area, Wadh. Agate, jasper, green chert and several other kinds of chert are found associated with the basalt chert unit in the mélange and gossan. In addition to that natrolite is found in the Nal ophiolite mainly in the Hazarghanji town found associated with the cracks and vugs of dolerite dykes as fibrous and cylindrical crystals. In metamorphic sole rocks of Bela Ophiolite in the Sonaro area, marble and quartzite are associated with the metamorphic rocks such as greenschist and amphibolite facies that are formed during the e volution period of the ophiolite. In pegmatite gabbro, the elongated and prismatic black crystals of augite are found in the host rock gabbro near the Ornach cross area, and the prehnite gemstone is found associated with the basalt and gabbroic rocks transition zone in the Ornach area

Prevalence and Association of Diabetic Retinopathy with Diabetic Foot Ulcer: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

We aimed to elucidate prevalence and association of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) from Pakistan. In this cross-sectional study, about 225 DFU patients who underwent ophthalmic examinations within 6 months of diagnosis of foot ulceration were included. The medical records of 305 diabetic patients without DFU were included as controls. The association of DR with DFU was assessed by comparing DFU patients with proliferative DR (PDR) and DFU patients without PDR. Out of 225 DFU patients, 215 patients (95.6%) had DR and 169 patients (75.1%) had PDR. The prevalence of DFU was significantly greater (P = 0.0527) among the male diabetic patients, whereas advanced age of these patients (≥41 years) had a significant effect (P = 0.0286) on development and progression of PDR. A longer duration of diabetes (≥10 years) was identified as a significant contributing factor for the development of both DFU (P = 0.0029) and PDR (P = 0.0299). Moreover, the risk of PDR increased in diabetic patients with higher DFU grades (grade 3 and grade 4). In conclusion, retinopathy was prevalent in DFU patients. Therefore, DFU patients with advancing age and longer duration of diabetes should undergo retinal examinations for timely diagnosis and management of DR

FREQUENCY AND PATTERN OF MUSCULOSKELETAL LIMB DEFECTS AMONG CHILDREN IN PESHAWAR DISTRICT

Introduction: Congenital defects are structural, behavioral, metabolic, and functional disorders present at the time of birth. However, the symptoms of some of these defects may not be clear until late childhood or adulthood. It consists of different categories of disorders, malformations, deformities, and association syndrome. This disorder is common from genetic anomalies and disregard for the developing fetus. The different prevalence of this disorder can be explained by racial, ethnic, socio-cultural, and economic differences between different countries. Material & Methods: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study. The secondary data was collected from the LRH and AKI. The sampling technique used in this study was convenience sampling. 5175 cases were recruited in this study. The sample size was not applicable because of the secondary data. The data was organized into a spreadsheet based on the type of variable using the Excel program and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Results: The overall frequency of congenital MSK limb defects was 157 per 5175 cases. Males were more affected 104(66.2%) than the females 53(33.8%) in the given data. Lower limb defects were more common than upper limb defects. Among the pattern of congenital limb defects, congenital talipes equinovarus was the most frequent defect observed and males were more affected as compared to females. Conclusion: The current study concluded that Frequencies of congenital musculoskeletal limb defects were observed in 157 of 5175 live births in Peshawar district during 2015-2017