ABSTRACT
This study was designed to determine the epidemiological and clinical attributes of COVID-19 patients in the least developed province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The information was obtained from the daily situation report by the Health Department, Government of Balochistan, Pakistan. We investigated the reports of 4177 patients confirmed by RT-PCR tests. Demographic, epidemiological and risk factors data along with comorbidities and clinical signs were recorded. Out of 4500 suspected cases, 4177 cases were directed for the confirmation of COVID-19. A sum of 2177 patients was confirmed to have COVID-19 and 2000 individuals tested negative for the illness. Out of 4177 patients, 2000 patients recovered but 177 patients died because of COVID-19. In current statistics, most males were affected by COVID-19 as 3243 (77.69%) were males and 934 (22.36%) were females. A total of 90.81% of individuals had fever, 88.97% had a cough, 81% had body throbs, and 89.66% had a sore throat. Shortness of breath was observed in 97.06% and 44.09 % had comorbidity. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the outcome of patients was associated with gender and symptoms. The district Quetta had the maximum number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. COVID-19 cases and case casualty proportion are low in Balochistan. Whether this is because of failure to do more tests is still to be discovered. Males and individuals of older age are more impacted, and fatalities were higher in cases with co-morbid conditions. Balochistan has a feeble medical care framework and many asymptomatic cases, and needs more rigid screening activities. © 2023, Mahidol University - ASEAN Institute for Health Development. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Student engagement is an important and reliable indicator of student success. Pedagogical design of the learning environment therefore must be grounded in the theoretical framework of engagement. This paper provides details of technology-supported strategies for effective engagement and their impact on student learning that are based on theoretical elements of engagement. These strategies were implemented before and during COVID-19 in several introductory math and aerospace engineering courses at an HBCU. A total of 642 math students and 183 aerospace engineering students were impacted during the study. A pre and post design was used for measuring attitudinal changes of the participant students. A comparison of the impact of the strategies on attitudes between pre-COVID and during COVID is shared. The data was also analyzed based on the gender. Data analysis indicated that the approach was effective and had a positive impact on student engagement. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.
ABSTRACT
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of mental health issues when faced with the challenges associated with pandemics. This study was conducted to assess the psychological impact of pandemic o n HCWs working in tertiary care hospitals of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This cross-sectional study was conducted between April & June 2020. By convenience sampling an electronic form of Goldberg General Health Questionnaire was distributed among HCWs of the private sector and public tertiary care hospitals. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Inferential analysis was done. The significant level was considered at p=< 0. 05. Total of 186 HCWs among which 105 (56.5%) males and 81 (43.5%) females participated in the survey, a mean age of 37.6 +/- 9.28 years. The highest prevalence was found for social dysfunction 184 (97.8%) followed by somatization, 169 (92.8%). Significance of difference was found between age group and anxiety (p=0.018), specialty of HCWs with somatization and social dysfunction (p=0.041 and 0.037 respectively). Pandemic poses a significant risk for the mental health of HCWs. During pandemics at its peak, proper mental health support program, personal and family protection assurance is highly recommended for provision of quality care by HCWs.
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Background: The loss of smell and taste in COVID-19 patients is now acknowledged as one of the disease's primary symptoms.
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The COVID-19 pandemic forced the move from a traditional face-to-face classroom to a remote learning model. The success of the remote learning model is contingent upon several factors including appropriate learning materials. Instructors who were entrenched in the face-to-face teaching method had to make rapid adjustments to deliver learning materials and to engage students remotely. In contrast, instructors who had been using techniques to prepare students virtually before class time meeting were better positioned to pivot to the remote learning approach. The techniques and the materials developed by faculty from mathematics and aerospace engineering at an HBCU for effectively engaging students which include virtual pre-class preparation were adapted for the remote learning method during this pandemic. These techniques and materials were made available to faculty to assist their move from face-to-face to remote learning. The approach is shared in this paper. Math and aerospace engineering students' satisfaction with the approach was measured and the results are also included in this paper. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
ABSTRACT
Background : Thromboembolism is characterized by aberrant activation of coagulation pathways often results in thrombus or clot formation in the large blood vessels followed by dislodgement from the primary site of formation into the distal site. Thromboembolism is of two types;1. arterial thromboembolism (ATE) and 2. venous thromboembolism (VTE). Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are the greatest innovation in the field of anticoagulation therapy. It has several advantages when compared to traditional vitamin antagonists (VKA). COVID Patients are at greater risk of thromboembolic complications. So, Direct oral anticoagulants such as Rivaroxaban and Apixaban are the two choices for clinicians firstly because it has greater advantages over Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) as they have broader therapeutic window and secondly because they don ' t require monitoring hence there is less patients visits for blood sample withdrawal thus minimizing the spread of infection. Aims : The aim of our study was to decipher the underlying molecular mechanisms in venous thromboembolism (VTE) and establishing the connection of certain miRNAs and treatment with DOACs. To overcome the potential bleeding episodes in patients who are prone to bleeding epistaxis and intracranial hemorrhages (ICH). Methods : We obtained a raw datasets of Differentially expressed genes (DEG 's) from NCBI in patients with who are diagnosed with Venous Thromboembolisms (VTE) which were then further subjected to statistical analysis based on p-value and Log fold changes. Results : The table 1 shows the molecular docking results of pglycoprotein and the anticoagulant Rivaroxaban(Anti-Xa). Conclusions : Metabolism of the dug in the human body is a complex mechanism that are govern by several mechanisms including dietary intake & concomitant administration of drugs. There are number of enzymes involved in the biotransformation of a drug into active compounds capable of exerting therapeutic responses.
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Objective: To examine the correlation between loneliness, sleep disturbances, resilience and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and stress among young adults during COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 young adults with age 18-40 years from Islamabad/Rawalpindi region, Pakistan. We used UCLA-Loneliness Scale, PROMIS-Sleep Disturbance Scale, the Ego Resiliency scale and DASS-21. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: There was positive correlation between loneliness, sleep disturbance, mental health problems and a negative correlation with resilience. Resilience played a moderating role between loneliness and mental health problems and between sleep disturbances and mental health problems. Conclusion: During the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness, sleep disturbances effect on mental health problems, and the positively correlate and they correlate negatively with resilience.
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Aim: To examine the prevalence of psychological distress during COVID-19, social distancing and risk factor for PTSD among general population of Pakistan. Methodology: The sample was drawn from Pakistani population having access to internet, age 18 years and above, through convenient sampling. Online survey method was used for the information assortment and the scales were Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS 21) and Impact of Event Scale (IES). Descriptive Statistics, Frequency, Percentages, Correlation and t-Test analysis were used for data analysis. Results: Results showed that women scored high on depression, anxiety, and stress scale as compared to males. Results also highlighted elevated level of anxiety in grownups and working individuals while elderly population resulted in more significant levels of stress than other subsequent groups. Another finding of the study was high level of depression among university students and individuals with already compromised quality of psychological health are prone to various psychological disturbances particularly conditions like PTSD due to other mental conditions.
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A new inclusion called total inclusion relation has improved the existing dissimilarity measure for q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets (qROFSs). For qROFSs, the modified axiomatic definition of dissimilarity measure is proposed. The modified Hamming and Euclidean dissimilarity measures are defined. An algorithmic procedure for a robust VIKOR method based on modified dissimilarity measures is established. The application of the robust VIKOR method in Mass Vaccination Campaigns (MVCs) in the COVID-19 situation is given.