Prevalence of Muscle Dysmorphia and Associated Health Activities in Male Medical Students in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a subtype of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and is currently classified under anxiety disorders (subheading: Obsessive-compulsive disorder) in DSM 5. MD is hypothesized to affect the self-esteem and social outlook of the younger generation. MD shows a higher rate in males and may influence their self-confidence rendering them more prone towards using steroids, supplementary proteins and other drugs to alter their physical outlooks as shown in previous studies. This problem has been on the rise lately due to revolutionary advancement in the media and film industry and the abrupt changes about the standards of physical good looks and body shapes. With the lack of studies done in our population, our study will be helpful to consider the prevalence of the disease in our setting and increase awareness in the general public and clinicians. We hope to help clinicians/ therapists find better options in managing the disease. Materials: We performed a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 246 medical school students in Karachi to collect data through self-administered questionnaires. We used the DSM 5 criteria for the diagnosis of BDD and additional questions on the presence of MD. Nutritional habits, exercise routines, use of supplements and drugs were also obtained for exploratory analysis. Results: Our study predicted the prevalence of MD to be 25%. Other main findings included statistical significant associations between MD and the thoughts and practice of steroid use for muscularity. Conclusion: MD is an underdiagnosed and often unrecognized disease that we believe has significant consequences for the young male population. Further work is needed on this in our part of the world. Our research, we believe, can be a stepping stone for further studies that would incorporate wider populations

Reconciling social norms with personal interests: indigenous styles of identity formation among Pakistani youth

Research on identity formation has been conducted mostly in Western contexts. We extend and complement such research by exploring qualitatively the strategies and styles of identity formation employed by emerging adults in Pakistan. Whereas Western theories of identity formation often provide a negative view of normative orientation as “blind obedience” without exploring alternatives, our thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 12 Pakistani emerging adults suggests a much more complex interplay between personal interests and normative influences on identity formation. Participants described various ways of reconciling normative expectations (parental, religious, and cultural) with their personal interests, preferences, and explorations, when deciding about their careers, relationships, and values. In Pakistani culture, normative influences seem to play a more positive and flexible role in identity formation than is suggested by previous Western research

Vanadium

International audienceVanadium (chemical symbol, V) is a d-block transition metal,silver in color, appearing in the first long period of the peri-odic table between titanium and chromium. Vanadium hastwo stable isotopes: 50V and 51V, with atomic abundance of0.25 % and 99.75 %, respectively. Vanadium has several oxidation forms (between 2+ and 5+). In the lithosphere, Voccurs as reducing V(III) form, whereas in oxidizing con- ditions V prevails under V(IV) form. Vanadium(II) is partic- ularly unstable in the environment. Vanadium(III) is more stable than V(II), but it is also gradually oxidized by the air or dissolved oxygen. Vanadium(V) is expected to be the prevailing form in waters exposed to atmospheric oxygen, whereas V(IV) may be present in reducing environments. Depending upon geometry and environment, V ionic radii vary between 36 pm and 79 pm. Vanadium has a high melting point of 1910 42 C and is a mildly incompatible, refractory,lithophile (siderophile in the iron core and chondrites) ele- ment. Vanadium has an electronegativity of 1.63 on the Pau- ling scale and displays a first ionization potential of 6.74 eV. More details can be found in Richards (2006) and Haynes (2015)

Characteristics of Copper-based Oxygen Carriers Supported on Calcium Aluminates for Chemical-Looping Combustion with Oxygen Uncoupling (CLOU)

Eight different oxygen carriers (OC) containing CuO (60 wt %) and different mass ratios of CaO to Al2O3 as the support were synthesized by wet-mixing followed by calcination at 1000 °C. The method of synthesis used involved the formation of calcium aluminum hydrate phases and ensured homogeneous mixing of the Ca2+ and Al3+ ions in the support at the molecular level. The performance of the OCs for up to 100 cycles of reduction and oxidation was evaluated in both a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and a fluidized bed reactor, covering a temperature range of 800 to 950 °C. In these cycling experiments, complete conversion of the OC, from CuO to Cu and vice versa, was always achieved for all OCs. The reactivity of the materials was so high that no deactivation could be observed in the TGA, owing to mass transfer limitations. It was found that OCs prepared with a mass ratio of CaO to Al2O3 in the support >0.55 agglomerated in the fluidized bed, resulting in an apparent deactivation over 25 cycles for all temperatures investigated. High ratios of mass of CaO to Al2O3 in the support resulted in CuO interacting with CaO, forming mixed oxides that have low melting temperatures, and this explains the tendency of these materials to agglomerate. This behavior was not observed when the mass ratio of CaO to Al2O3 in the support was ≤0.55 and such materials showed excellent cyclic stability operating under redox conditions at temperatures as high as 950 °C.The authors thank Mohammad Ismail and Matthew Dunstan for helping with the XRD analysis and Alex Casabuena-Rodriguez and for helping with the SEM. This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC grant EP/I010912/1).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from ACS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.5b0117

Prevalence and patterns of physical activity among school aged adolescents in Pakistan: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Less than one fifth of Pakistani adolescents, aged 13–15, years achieve recommended activity levels. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine a pooled estimate of the prevalence of PA, and to systematically evaluate the literature available on PA among adolescents in Pakistan. A systemic search of databases was conducted. In addition, hand search of references of all the included relevant publications was performed. Random effects meta-analysis was used to get weighted prevalence of PA among adolescents. Quality of undertaken studies was assessed using New-Castle Ottawa Scale. After removing duplicates, reviewing titles and abstracts and screening full texts, 15 articles were included for analysis. All studies were conducted in school setting, with a total sample size of 10,651. Weighted pooled prevalence of PA among adolescents was 36.0% with high heterogeneity (99.28%). Most of the studies met study quality assessment criteria except for comparability of subjects in different outcome groups and assessment of outcome. Prevalence of PA among adolescents is low in Pakistan. Formal strategies are needed for promoting PA among adolescents for their improved health and for reducing future burden of NCDs

Assessment of nutritional status among adolescents: a hospital based cross sectional study

Background:Adolescence, a period of transition between childhood and adulthood, occupies a crucial position in the life of human beings. The primary causes of under nutrition in India are its large population, socio-economic differences and inadequate access to health facilities. Nutritional assessments among adolescents are important as they are the future parents and constitute a potentially susceptible group. Studies on the assessment of nutritional status of adolescents are less in number and a National database has not yet been developed.Methods:The present hospital based cross sectional study was conducted in year 2013 among 344 rural adolescents of 10-19 years age (166 boys and 178 girls) attending the outpatient department at rural health training centre (RHTC) Dhaura Tanda, district Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, belonging to the Muslim and Hindu caste communities. The nutritional status was assessed in terms of under nutrition (weight-for-age below 3rd percentile), stunting (Height-for-age below 3rd percentile) and thinness (BMI-for-age below 5th percentile). Diseases were accepted as such as diagnosed by pediatrician, skin specialist and medical officer.Results:The prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness were found to be 32.8%, 19.5% and 26.7% respectively. The maximum prevalence of malnutrition was observed among early adolescents (28%-47%) and the most common morbidities were URTI (38.6%), diarrhea (16.8%), carbuncle / furuncle (16%) and scabies (9.30%).Conclusion:The study concluded that the most common morbidities among adolescents were related to nutrition and personal hygiene. Regular health programmes should focus to educate and promote health among adolescent.