10 research outputs found
S. Akbar Zaidi. Issues in Pakistan’s Economy. Second Edition Revised and Expanded. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2005. xii+530 Pages. Paperback. Pak. Rs 595.00.
No full text“Issues in Pakistan’s Economy” by S. Akbar Zaidi was first
published in 1999. The book provided comprehensive information on
different aspects of the economy in Pakistan since independence. The
idea of writing this book originated from Oxford University Press as
there was no book on the economy of Pakistan to benefit the graduate
students, researchers, scholars, academicians, and the general public.
The book was prescribed as a standard text book in the area of issues in
Pakistan’s economy. It is also used as a standard book on the courses on
South Asia’s development, economic history, and political economy of the
region. The book became a best seller due to its subject matter. That is
why a great need was felt to update the book that forced the author to
expand, update, and revise the book and improve the shortcomings left in
the previous edition. The Second edition includes a large amount of new
research material. Also, the most recent available data have been
included in the tables of the text throughout the book. Three new
chapters have been added, some of the chapters have been reformulated,
and the new arrivals in theory and empirical research have also been
incorporated, accordingly. The book under review presents the important
issues in the form of boxed text, appendices, chapter summaries, and
provides suggested readings to further enhance the knowledge in specific
areas. The efforts and the pains of the author in completing this book
are highly laudable in producing such a valuable piece of research on
economic development in Pakistan over the fifty-seven years to benefit
the end users in completing their studies, research work, and
policy-oriented assignments
Minor Oral Surgery with Out Stopping the Daily Low Dose of Aspirin Therapy
No full textOBJECTIVES
Patients with the low-dose long-term aspirin regime have a severe risk of excessive bleeding during surgery, placing them at risk of "adverse thrombotic events". This study aims to evaluate the bleeding in patients undergoing minor oral surgery procedures without stopping daily low-dose aspirin therapy.
METHODOLOGY
A descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based investigation involved the patient with minor oral surgery at "Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, Pakistan" from mid-April 2021 to mid-June 2021, who were between the age group 30 to 75 with a low-dose aspirin regime. The data was collected via a questionnaire to record the variables, i.e. duration of aspirin, postoperative medications, platelets count, clotting time, normal bleeding time, and intraoperative bleeding time.
RESULTS
51 patients, of which 32 were males while 19, were females. The normal bleeding time was comparatively analyzed with the intraoperative bleeding time using SPSS statistical software version 22. The results revealed that the mean bleeding time for the patients with a low-dose aspirin regime during minor oral surgery was 5.49 ± 1.07, while for the patients with a stopped aspirin dose was 4.57 ± 1.07. The comparative analysis using a t-test doesn't reveal significant statistical differences of p<0.05 between both groups.
CONCLUSION
We concluded that minor oral surgical procedures could safely be done without altering or stopping the low-dose, long-term aspirin regime.
Comparing Dental Undergraduates’ Perceptions Regarding Case- Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning: A Karachi Multi-Center Survey
No full textObjective: This study investigated and compared dental students’ perceptions regarding case-based learning (CBL) and problem-based learning (PBL) in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical survey conducted across four institutions in Karachi from March to December 2021. The convenience sampling technique was used to extract the sample. The sample size of 384 was calculated using Openepi. The third and final-year undergradu- ate dental students who had experience with PBL and CBL participated. Feedback on the effective- ness & utility of PBL and CBL was gathered through a 5-point Likert scale. Results were checked for the significant association of variables under investigation through the utilization of an independent t- test. A p-value of 0.05 or less served as the benchmark for statistically significant findings.
Results: The survey was participated by 387 students, including 20.8% males and 79.1% females. Overall, 68.2% were satisfied with CBL as compared to PBL. 63.6% recommended using it as a pri- oritized teaching method, especially in the curriculum of clinical years of dentistry i.e. 64.3%. They praised its effectiveness in terms of decision-making, real-life application, achieving a higher level of knowledge, understanding course objectives, and managing time effectively. Students also valued PBL for enhancing their critical thinking, decision-making, and communication skills. The majority (57.4%) suggested employing it in the pre-clinical years of dentistry.
Conclusion: Dental students in Karachi favor CBL for its effective knowledge acquisition and practical application while acknowledging PBL’s strengths in developing critical thinking and communication skills. However, future research exploring faculty perspectives and cross-disciplinary comparisons is recommended
Determining the psychometric properties of a written test to assess safe dental practice
No full textImpact of Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco on Salivary Flow Rate, pH Levels and Salivary Electrolytes
No full textBackground: Tobacco use, both in smoked and smokeless forms, poses a significant threat to public health. The specific impact of tobacco use on the parameters of saliva still needs to be explored. Hence, the current study aimed to identify the impact of smoking and smokeless tobacco on salivary flow rate, pH levels, and salivary electrolytes.
Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted at community health centers, dental clinics, and public spaces in Hyderabad from January 2024 to July 2024. A total of 150 smokers and smokeless tobacco users who were >18 years old were recruited via convenience sampling technique. MedCalc software was used, and a one-way analysis of variances was run to identify the differences in the values of groups. The level of significance was kept at 95% CI.
Results: Salivary flow rate, pH levels, and electrolyte measurements were analyzed, and the findings revealed that levels of the unstimulated flow rate of saliva were noticeably less (p<0.001) in both smoking and smokeless tobacco user groups compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Overall, the results underscore the dangerous impact of tobacco on oral health, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to reduce tobacco use and promote oral health awareness.
Assessment of the efficacy and long-term outcomes of minimally invasive techniques in dental restoration
No full textThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and long-term effects of minimally invasive dental repair procedures. Using SPSS, 400 patient records from a supplementary dataset were examined. Examined were the patient satisfaction levels, success rates, durability of the restoration, kind of restoration, material used, and complications. The findings showed that Dental Crowns and Composite Fillings were the two restoration kinds that were most frequently used, with Composite Resin being the favored substance. An important portion of cases had complications, like dental caries and fractures. However, the majority of restorations were effective and left patients with high levels of satisfaction. The statistical studies, which included chi-square tests and ANOVA using SPSS version 2021, revealed no significant correlation between the kind of restoration and problems as well as no significant variation in the longevity of the restorations among the various restoration techniques. These results imply that the selection of a minimally invasive procedure might not have a substantial impact on restoration results. When planning dental restorations, it's crucial to take the preferences and circumstances specific to each patient into account. To validate these results, additional research using bigger sample sizes and detailed databases is advised
Governing globalization in South Asia through a legal praxis of human rights, development and democracy
No full textABSTRACT
This doctoral thesis in law seeks to understand, and begin to remedy, the immense and avoidable poverty that disenfranchises at least 30 percent of the world's most populous region. Defining South Asia as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the study analyses the multidimensional nature, historical origins and modern dynamics of both this material poverty and poverties of human rights, democracy and development. Both critical analysis and creative response are framed within legal history, human rights jurisprudence, constitutional and administrative law, comparative law and public international law, but the author draws extensively on political economy and history, and partially on philosophy, and cultural studies.
Chapter 1 traces the Western evolution of the universal human rights regime, first globalized in 1948 by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also traces South Asian sociopolitical and religious articulations of human dignity and limitations on legitimate power through the ages. Mostly contrary to culturally relativist claims, South Asia's human rights needs are found to be well served by a genuinely universalist regime including justiciable economic, social and cultural rights as inseparable from civil and political.
Chapters 2 and 3 survey the historical globalizations that have impacted on South Asia. Although globalization is shown to be a neutral phenomenon, the author identifies the insidious contemporary propagation of a particular neo-liberal ideology as being globalization's inevitable and optimal form. The study analyses this propagation by the International Financial Institutions the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, acting through Structural Adjustment Policies and only partially corrective Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. Neo-liberalism supposedly unshackles benign market forces from distorting governmental rules to create spontaneous growth that trickles down to the poor; in fact it employs its own rules to privilege the already wealthy, especially Western capital and transnational corporations (TNCs).
The thesis urges South Asia to govern globalization pro-actively, seeking the virtuous circle of human rights, plural democracy and equitable development. Positive signs have already included national membership in, and constitutional enshrinement of, universal human rights norms, and certain efforts of civil society and non-governmental organizations, fostered at times by activist judiciaries.
Chapter 4 nevertheless catalogues overriding failures to internalize plural democracy and the rule of law, leaving rights nominal and democratic structures hollow. Governments have been obsequious to neo-liberal hegemony, insouciant to their underclasses and exploitative of religious schisms in appeal to tyrannous majoritarianism. The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation is shown as an inadequate response to the region's multidimensional poverties.
Adapting instead the best practices of the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States, the African Union, and the British Commonwealth from Chapter 5, Chapter 6 details a South Asian Union for Human Rights Development and Democracy to replace SAARC. This new regional response complements global human rights norms and offers South Asia solidarity in confronting neo-liberalism, and holding TNCs, IFIs and especially their own governments accountable to the rule of law, equitable development, deep democracy, wide human rights, and larger freedom in peace and security
Proceedings of the 1st Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS) International Medical Research Conference
No full textProceedings of the 1st Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS) International Medical Research Conference
No full textImpact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries
No full textBackground: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures. Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge. Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to sideeffects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (β coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and lowand middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not. Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely
