Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is pneumonia like viral disease which was originated from Wuhan China in 2019. Besides its high morbidity and mortality, a lot of physiological, enzymatic, hormonal and genetic imbalances had also been observed among Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) patients. The purpose of the present study was the assessment of comorbidities and association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine (TMPRSS) gene among COVID-19 patients. A total of 300 (healthy control n = 150 COVID-19 n = 150) individuals were sampled and genotyped for ACE2 rs2285666 and TMPRSS rs2070788 SNPs respectively. A total of 92/150 (61.3

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) has emerged as a major health threat worldwide. There is an increasing advocacy of natural products in the treatment of DM and its complications. Objective of this study was to see the effect of supplementation of Pioglitazone and Acacia honey on inflammatory mediators and oxidative stress in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Methods: The study was conducted in Al-Nafees Medical College in association with National Institute of Health, Islamabad. There were 150 male Sprague Dawley rats divided into 5 equal groups. Group-I was taken as normal control whereas Group-II was diabetic control. The Groups-II?V were given STZ through intraperitoneal route. Group-III received Acacia honey for 3 weeks. Group-IV was given intra-peritoneal injection of pioglitazone plus Acacia honey, and Group-V was administered pioglitazone through intraperitoneal route for same dose and duration. Serum catalase, hydrogen peroxide, CRP and TNF-? were measured after three weeks. Statistical analysis was done on SPSS-22. The values were presented as Mean±SEM and p?0.05 was considered significant. Results: On day 25 compared to Group-II, serum TNF-? and hydrogen peroxide levels were significantly decreased in Groups-III, IV and V. The mean serum CRP levels were significantly decreased in Group-III and IV while Group-II and III had significantly raised serum catalase levels. Conclusion: Acacia honey along with pioglitazone decreases oxidative stress as predicted by increase in levels of catalase. This combination also reduces inflammation as measured by decreased levels of CRP and TNF-? in STZ induced diabetic rats. Pak J Physiol 2024;24(3):18?22, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v20i3.1536

This research study aims to determine the attitudes of practicing school teachers towards blended learning in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The study involved 369 elementary school instructors recruited and trained in 2017 through the Teacher Induction Policy. The data analysis revealed that teachers had favorable attitudes towards integrated learning and the efficacy of blended learning in education and knowledge acquisition. However, the study also highlighted the significant challenges faced by educators when training via blended learning. The findings highlight the need for more effective and flexible teaching methods to ensure the success of blended learning in the education sector.

The current research paper aimed to investigate the effectiveness of training of teachers' performance conducted under JICA, GTZ, and PITE, A case study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The survey research design was applied as per the nature of the study. A sample of 114 JICA-trained teachers, 379 GTZ-trained teachers, and 760 PITE-trained teachers was chosen. The size was determined using Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) sample table. The researcher used the stratified sampling method. A questionnaire was developed on a five-point Likert scale including five dimensions of training, i.e., objectives, organization and easiness of training content, expertise of trainer, participation level of trainees, and facilities provided by three organizations. Content validation was completed through experts' judgment, whereas the reliability of research too was measured through Cronbach's Alpha, which was estimated at 0.793. The researcher personally administered the questionnaire to the respondents and considered the researcher while gathering data from the teachers. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used. The key findings of the study reveal that teachers who received training are satisfied with the accompaniment of objectives, organization, and easiness of training content, the expertise of trainers, the participation level of trainees, and facilities provided by three organizations. The study recommended that the Government of KP developed a flow-up mechanism for such teachers to improve the professional skills of the teachers.

Although printed networks of semiconducting nanosheets have found success in a range of applications, conductive nanosheet networks are limited by low conductivities (<106 S m-1 ). Here, dispersions of silver nanosheets (AgNS) that can be printed into highly conductive networks are described. Using a commercial thermal inkjet printer, AgNS patterns with unannealed conductivities of up to (6.0 ± 1.1) × 106 S m-1 are printed. These networks can form electromagnetic interference shields with record shielding effectiveness of >60 dB in the microwave region at thicknesses <200 nm. High resolution patterns with line widths down to 10 µm are also printed using an aerosol-jet printer which, when annealed at 200 °C, display conductivity >107 S m-1 . Unlike conventional Ag-nanoparticle inks, the 2D geometry of AgNS yields smooth, short-free interfaces between electrode and active layer when used as the top electrode in vertical nanosheet heterostructures. This shows that all-printed vertical heterostructures of AgNS/WS2 /AgNS, where the top electrode is a mesh grid, function as photodetectors demonstrating that such structures can be used in optoelectronic applications that usually require transparent conductors.

Objective: To determine the effect of combined supplementation of Pioglitazone and Acacia Honey on blood glucose levels in Streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats. Study Design: Laboratory-based animal study. Place and Duration of study: Al-Nafees Medical College, in collaboration with the National Institute of Health, Islamabad Pakistan, from Jan 2016 to Jun 2017. Methodology: The study was conducted on 150 male Sprague Dawley rats, divided into five groups with 30 rats. Group-I was the control Group. Groups II-V were given Streptozotocin 65 mg Streptozotocin intraperitoneally to make them diabetic. Group II was diabetic control. Group-III was given acacia honey for three weeks. Group-IV received an intraperitoneal injection of Pioglitazone (oral hypoglycemic) 15 mg/kg body weight per day plus Acacia honey, and Group-V was given Pioglitazone intraperitoneally for the same dose and duration. Fasting blood glucose levels were measured after three weeks of supplementation. Results: After three weeks of supplementation, the blood glucose levels were significantly (p-value <0.001) lower in all Groups (Group- III: 228.33±40.60 mg/dl, Group-IV: 132.50±22.67 mg/dl and Group- V: 120.73±14.19 mg/dl) as compared to Group-II (Diabetic Controls) (290.13±52.60 mg/dl). Conclusion: Combined supplementation of Acacia honey and Pioglitazone reduces blood glucose levels in Streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats.

This laboratory study set out to characterize Calcium Phosphate (CaP) based bone cements with added Zinc Oxide (ZnO) embedded in Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Bone cements with varying percentages of CaP mixed with and without varying percentages of ZnO in PMMA were fabricated by one-step polymerization by reacting equimolar ratios of MMA powder and acrylic resin. Neat-PMMA was used as control throughout the experiment. Fabricated samples were tested for their contact angle measurement, surface roughness, nanohardness, elastic modulus, and also their chemical characterization using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used as a statistical method, and a p -value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. It was found that increasing CaP content elevated the hydrophobicity of the composites while mechanical properties increased with the increase of CaP. On the contrary, the addition of ZnO did not show any significant effect. The optimal concentration was observed to be at 20% CaP loading where the mechanical properties were balanced with the hydrophilic nature of CaP. It was also noted that different wt.% of ZnO and CaP did not affect the physicochemical characteristics of the composites. The PMMA-CaP composites demonstrated encouraging results and necessitate further studies to ascertain the implementation of these bone cements clinically.

The development of low-cost ultrafiltration membranes with relatively high flow rate and selectivity is an important goal which could improve access to clean water in the developing world. Here we demonstrate a method to infuse mixtures of graphene nanosheets and Teflon nanoparticles into ultra-cheap glass fibre membranes. Annealing the resultant composites leads to coalescence of the Teflon, resulting in very stable membranes with significantly enhanced mechanical properties. In filtration tests, while adding ~ 10 wt% graphene/Teflon to the glass fibre membrane decreased the flow rate by × 100, the selectivity improved by × 103 compared to the neat glass fibre membrane. This combination of selectively and flow rate was significantly better than any commercial membrane tested under similar circumstances. We found these membranes could remove > 99.99% of 25–250 nm diameter SiC nanoparticles dispersed in ethanol, transmitting only particles with diameters < 40 nm, performance which is superior to commercial alumina membranes. Field trials on dirty canal water showed these composite membranes to remove aluminium to a level × 10 below the EU limit for drinking water and reduce iron and bacteria contents to below detectable levels.

In chronic stress, release of catecholamines, adrenocorticoids and pituitary hormones result impaired release of neuromodulator - neuropeptide Y. The deregulated neuropeptide Y results imbalanced redox homeostasis reduced endogenous superoxide dismutase and raised malondialdehyde. Objectives: To find the effect of chronic stress on plasma neuropeptide Y, superoxide dismutase, and malondialdehyde levels. Study Design: Quasi-experimental. Setting: Al-Nafees Medical College & Hospital in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad. Period: January 2016 to December 2016. Material & Methods: After approval from institutional review board, thirty healthy male Sprague Dawley rats were included in the study and were divided equally into group I (control) and group II (restraint stress). The animals were housed in stainless steel cages, at humidity (40-60%), temperature (22 ± 2°C) and a 12-h light-dark cycle with lights on at 0700 am. After adaptation, group II was exposed to restraint stress of 6 hours daily for 28 days. The blood sampling for plasma neuropeptide Y, serum superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde levels were taken. Results: There was significant decline in neuropeptide Y plasma and superoxide dismutase serum levels while an increase in malondialdehyde levels serum levels was noticed in restraint stress group. Conclusions: Chronic stress induces decrease in plasma NPY with subsequent increase in serum malondialdehyde and decrease in superoxide dismutase levels.

Objective: To determine the chronic stress induced decline in plasma Neuropeptide Y (NPY) level and protective effects of Alpha Tocopherol (AT) on maintenance of Neuropeptide Y level. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: The study settings were Al-Nafees Medical College and animal center of National Institute of Health Islamabad (NIH). Duration of research was one year from May 2015 to May 2016. Methodology: After taking approval of institutional review board 45 male Sprague Dawley rats with inclusion criteria were chosen and allocated to three groups comprised of n=15. Group I was control, group II restraint stress and group III (restraint stress with supplementation of alpha-tocopherol). After 28 days of restraining stress induction plasma Neuropeptide Y level was determined by sandwich Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results: There was a statistically significant decline (p<0.05) in plasma Neuropeptide Y levels in restraint group as compared to control group and with alpha-tocopherol supplementation group. Conclusion: Chronic restraint stress induction led to decline in Neuropeptide Y levels and alpha-tocopherol prevented fall in Neuropeptide Y levels.

The leadership is the leading and burning issue and solely responsible for the success and failure of all the organizations including the higher education institutions. It is the leadership whose main role is the inspiration and motivation of students towards their curriculum and workforces for the attainment of institutional tasks and responsibilities effectively. The vice-chancellor is the sole academic and the administrative leader of the University. This study narrated the views of selective Vice Chancellors of KP, Pakistan regarding performing their responsibilities. A structured interview was coded into the responsibility theme and thenconducted face to face interview from each leader at their respective universities. The data was the transcript, compared through the tables and interpreted in the form of conceptual map. The trustworthiness of the study was based on persistent observation, member checking, and debriefing. There were differences in their narrative views regarding their strengths and weakness, hiring eligibility, their point of difficulty of decision making, criticism faced by subordinates from person to person

In chronic stress, release of catecholamines, adrenocorticoids and pituitary hormones result impaired release of neuromodulator neuropeptide Y. The deregulated neuropeptide Y results imbalanced redox homeostasis reduced endogenous superoxide dismutase and raised malondialdehyde. Objectives: To find the effect of chronic stress on plasma neuropeptide Y, superoxide dismutase, and malondialdehyde levels. Study Design: Quasi-experimental. Setting: Al-Nafees Medical College & Hospital in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad. Period: January 2016 to December 2016. Material & Methods: After approval from institutional review board, thirty healthy male Sprague Dawley rats were included in the study and were divided equally into group I (control) and group II (restraint stress). The animals were housed in stainless steel cages, at humidity (40-60%), temperature (22 ± 2°C) and a 12-h light-dark cycle with lights on at 0700 am. After adaptation, group II was exposed to restraint stress of 6 hours daily for 28 days. The blood sampling for plasma neuropeptide Y, serum superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde levels were taken. Results: There was significant decline in neuropeptide Y plasma and superoxide dismutase serum levels while an increase in malondialdehyde levels serum levels was noticed in restraint stress group. Conclusions: Chronic stress induces decrease in plasma neuropeptide with subsequent increase in serum malondialdehyde and decrease in superoxide dismutase levels.

This study was to compare and narrate the difference in the role of team building, through self-assessed inventory by VC (Executive Leader), observation sheet filled by co-workers as well as the narrated view of executive leaders regarding team-building of the newly established University of the region. Concurrent triangulation mixed-method design was followed. Vice-Chancellors of all Public universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan constitutes the population of the study. According to the design, the same sampling technique was used. Four ViceChancellors of newly established Universities and five observers among their co-workers of each VC were taken as respondents of the study. There were significant differences among the self-assessed views of VCs regarding team building and views of their coworkers and narrative views of executive leaders at newly established universities. For team leadership, egalitarian style, knowledge of emotional intelligence and target-oriented communication are recommended