ENHANCEMENT OF SOLUBILITY AND OPTIMIZATION OF ORALLY DISINTEGRATING FILMS OF ACYCLOVIR

Objective: The objective of this work was to prepare and optimize orally disintegrating films of acyclovir (ACV), which is a known antiviral agent. To enhance the solubility of ACV, solid dispersions of ACV were made.Methods: The films were prepared using a solvent casting technique. Full factorial design was utilized for the optimization of the effect of independent variables such as the amount of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose 5 cps, sodium starch glycolate, and propylene glycol on the disintegration time. Other evaluation tests such as drug release, drug content, thickness, and folding endurance of film were also conducted.Results: Compatibility studies by Fourier transform infrared showed that there was no significant interaction between the drug and excipients used. Disintegration time was found to be 43 s for the optimized batch. The in vitro release profile of formulation response disintegrating time in phosphate buffer pH 6.8 revealed that there was a significant increment in drug release of the optimized batch in comparison to the screening batches. Further, short-term accelerated stability studies carried out for 4 weeks for the optimized formulation which proved that the formulated films were stable at the accelerated conditions of temperature and humidity (40±2°C/75±5% RH).Conclusions: It was concluded that such ACV solid dispersion films could be beneficial in enhancement of dissolution and consequently the oral bioavailability of ACV

Underlying Causes of Student Academic Engagement in High Schools of South Punjab, Pakistan

Student Engagement (SE) refers to the extent to which students are attached, interested, involved, and committed to their academic activities at the high school level. This concept encompassed a four-dimensional spiral model i.e. behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic. Keeping this spiral model in consideration, we designed a Cross-Sectional Survey Research Design (CSSRD) to find out the underlying causes of SE in registered high schools of South Punjab, Pakistan. A sample size of n1=2758 students was selected from n2=347 registered high schools through a multistage sampling technique. A questionnaire was used to investigate the viewpoints of the participants through the survey method. The responses of the students were analyzed through SPSS Version-21 by using simple linear and hierarchical linear regression analysis. Empirical findings showed that school belonging and valuing of school education altered SE by 90.4%. Moreover, the classroom's learning environment and cognitive engagement factors changed SE by 59.5% and 52.8%, respectively. In conclusion, the components of belongingness, valuing of school education, mental excellency, cognitive abilities for learning, and classroom environment were the major determinants of SE in the study context. Ensuring the positive role of parents, peer groups, and teachers accompanied by pertinent goal-setting behavior and classroom environment can enhance SE. Moreover, emotional integration, behavioral acquiescence, and cognitive restructuring can also upsurge SE in the present research milie

Marxism and Literature: Marxist Analysis of ‘The Garden Party’

Research is conducted on Marxism but many literary genres still need to be studied using Marxist lens. Short stories like ‘The Garden Party’ gives realistic depiction of life so demands a Marxist explanation. It is full of themes and characters, every individual encounters frequently in real life, has not yet been studied in view of some economic or social theory. This research aims to analyse this short story applying Marxism to yield plurality of meanings embedded in it and to widen compass of this economic and political theory. Research technique used here is qualitative in nature as it analyses ‘words and phrases’ used in the text to decipher its underlying theme. The findings of this study gives an insight into social condition of a common human being and subjugation of lower social class in the hands of upper social class. Further, it scrutinizes “the politics of class” to observe socio-economic circumstances of individuals and societies along with asserting how people are shaped, and their behaviour is affected by their social class. Through characters, Katherine Mansfield has not only portrayed exploitation and manipulation of the lower social class/stratum but has also revealed role of ideology to maintain this status quo

FINANCIAL LITERACY AND INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS

Financial literacy is individual’s ability to understand financial terms and instruments. In Pakistan, individuals simply know that they are depositing money in various institutions in order to get more wealth in name of profit. They don’t know what exactly they are doing and they are ignorant about the functions and existence of financial markets. This scenario generates the need to study and measure financial literacy in Pakistan. The study used data from National Savings Centers of Pakistan which has been used first time for research purpose in Pakistan. Ordinary least square regression was used to analyze relationship of psychosocial factors with financial literacy. After assessing basic and advanced financial knowledge, individuals of Pakistan were found to be financially illiterate and there existed a positive relationship between financial literacy and other psychosocial factors which were hopelessness, religiosity, financial satisfaction, retirement plan intention and risk preference. Financial literacy was also positively related to age, qualification, marital status and occupation as older, highly qualified, married and business persons were more financially literate. Financial literacy had significant positive relationship with gender, hopelessness and retirement plan intention. This study has implications for researchers, academicians and policy makers

An Exploratory Case Study of 21st Century Skills Development Among Educators and Students Engaged in an Online Collaborative Educational and Cultural Exchange Program

This qualitative study was conducted to explore 21st century skills among educators and students engaged in an online collaborative educational and cultural exchange program between middle and high school students and teachers in Heavy Industries Taxila Education City (HITEC), Pakistan and Watauga county schools in western North Carolina. Educators identified common curriculum contents to develop semester long projects in which students were engaged in online collaborative learning experiences through cultural activities such as digital photo sharing and storytelling to improve their cultural competency and global awareness. The research study found that the engagement of students and teachers in the US-Pakistan Educational and Cultural Exchange Program resulted in the development of key 21st century skills among participants of the program. These skills include global awareness, cross-cultural competency, creativity, collaboration, communication, and social networking. The research findings are helpful for school administrators to make progress in international collaboration and implementation of 21st century skills. The outcomes of this research provide an opportunity to improve relationships between the two countries and to open new avenues for future joint ventures in addition to improving perceptions about each other

An audit of head trauma care and mortality

Objective: To analyze the factors contributing to deaths from head trauma by using standardized assessment parameters and to provide a peer-review of head injury deaths with focus on identifying deficiencies and analyzing contributory factors.Design: Descriptive study.Place and duration of study: The study was carried out at the Emergency, Aga Khan University Hospital during January 1998 to December 1999.Subjects and method: One hundred and three patients above the age of 15 years presenting alive to the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) emergency with head injury were included in this study. Identified deaths data was reviewed by the Hospital Trauma Peer Review Committee and consensus arrived at for categorization of deaths. The potential deficiencies in care were identified and final recommendations made. The data was computed on CDC Trauma Registry (V 3.0) and SPSS (V 8.0).Results: Mean age was 31.9 years (n=103) with predominant male population (4:1). Severe head injury (GCS\u3c8) accounted for 21.3 % (n=22) of all cases with a total number of deaths being 12.6 % (n=13). Deaths were categorized preventable in 3 cases with non-preventable and potentially preventable in 4 and 6 cases respectively. Road traffic accidents were the predominant mechanism (n=8) in all deaths (n=13). The time interval in relation to mortality was biphasic, most deaths occurring either within 24 hours or between 3-7 days of injury. Inappropriate pre-hospital treatment, pre-hospital delays and inappropriate mode of transportation without inter-hospital communication were the process-related defects in pre-hospital care with major determinant of deaths outside AKUH (n=5). Prolonged emergency stay, delayed intensive care availability were the process-related deficiencies whereas inappropriate initial resuscitation, inappropriate initial head injury management were provider-related deficiencies in in-hospital care.Conclusion: Transfer of inappropriately managed patients, lapses in inter-hospital communications, delayed transfers were identified as the major pre-hospital factors whereas lack of ICU beds, portable ventilators in emergency room, delays in CT scan facilities were the deficiencies in the hospital services. Opportunities for improvement in head trauma care are needed to focus on initial resuscitation and appropriate surgical management

Short term results of a single autologous whole blood injection for treatment of resistant tennis elbow

Background: Lateral epicondylitis commonly called tennis elbow is a common cause of elbow pain and involves degeneration of common extensor origin with no unanimously supported algorithm for the treatment. Recently, autologous blood injection has been reported for the treatment of resistant cases. We present the short term results of a single shot of autologous whole blood for the treatment of resistant tennis elbow.Methods: The study was conducted on 56 patients who fulfilled the other inclusion criteria’s. 2 ml of autologous whole blood was introduced just proximal to the lateral epicondyle and the contents were injected on the under surface of the extensor carpi radialis group of muscles. Pain severity using VAS and Nirschl Staging was assessed before injection and re-evaluation was done at 4 weeks, 12 weeks and 6 months.Results: Before the procedure average pain score was 7.5(range 5-9). The average Nirschl stage was 5.5 (range 4-7). After autologous blood injections the average pain score decreased to 4 at 4 weeks, 2.8 at 12 weeks and 2.5 at 6 months. The average Nirschl stage decreased to 3.53 at 4 weeks, 2.45 at 12 weeks and 2.3 at 6months. The reduction was statistically significant (p<0.001). 28 out of 56 patients (50%) were completely relieved of pain with a pain score of 0 at 6 months. There was no major complication.Conclusions: A single injection of autologous whole blood for resistant tennis elbow is an economical and effective treatment and has an excellent safety profile

Spatializing Groundwater Quality Parameters and Their Impacts on Land Value in Khushab City, Punjab, Pakistan

This research was designed to examine the spatial variation in land value in response to ground water qualityin Khushab city, Punjab Pakistan. There were four Physical and five chemical parameters such as pH, ElectricConductivity (EC), Calcium (Ca), hardness, Magnesium (Mg), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) concentration, taste, colorand odor were tested for groundwater quality appraisal in the study area. There were one hundred water samplescollected from different wells in the study area. Thereafter, the water quality parameters were processed in ArcGIS foranalyzing spatial distribution of groundwater quality parameters by using interpolation and geostatistical tools. It wasfound that all the groundwater parameters were higher than the permissible limit by WHO except pH concentration. Itwas further revealed that the ground water was unsafe for drinking and domestic purpose. Variation in land price wasalso studied with special reference to ground water quality. It was concluded that the groundwater quality has asignificant effect on land value in the study area. The deteriorated groundwater quality was proved to be a potentdeterminant for decreasing land price in the study area

Active slip control of a vehicle using fuzzy control and active suspension

This paper presents an active slip control system (ASCS) for a four-wheel drive electric vehicle (EV) using an active suspension of the vehicle. The integrated control mechanism is designed using a combination of a fuzzy controller and a nonlinear back-stepping controller to control the slip of the individual wheels with the help of the active suspension of the vehicle. In this research, the presented control mechanism is implemented in two steps. In the first step, based on the friction coefficient calculated from a nonlinear tire model, the fuzzy controller will generate the vehicle roll and pitch angles required to reduce the slipping of the individual wheels by changing the vertical load of the individual wheel. In the second step, a nonlinear back-stepping controller is used to track the required roll and pitch angles using the active suspension of the vehicle. A linear seven degree of freedom (DOF) vertical mathematical model is used for the design of the nonlinear back-stepping controller, while the rules of the fuzzy controller are interpreted from the friction coefficients of the tyre model. The performance of the presented control mechanism is verified using a 14-DOF nonlinear model with nonlinear tyre dynamics. The simulations using a nonlinear vehicle model show that the presented controller can successfully improve vehicle stability by reducing the slipping of the individual wheel