Background: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women throughout the world. However, in comparison with Western women, it presents relatively early in women of Asian ethnicity. Early menarche, late menopause, use of OCP's, family history of benign or malignant breast disease, exposure to radiation and BMI in the under-weight range are well known risk factors for the development of breast cancer in premenopausal women. Early detection with the use of breast self-examination (BSE) and breast cancer screening programs can lead to a reduction in the mortality rates due to breast cancer. The aim of our study was to assess the risk factors for breast cancer among young women and to emphasize the importance of early screening among them. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among women aged 18 to 25 using a selfadministered questionnaire. Data was collected over a period of 6 months from June to December, 2014. A total of 300 young women selected randomly from Dow Medical College and various departments of Karachi University successfully completed the survey. Results: Respondents were 18-25 years of age (mean age=21.5). Out of the 300 young females, 90 (30%) had at least one risk factor, 90 (30%) had two, 40 (13%) had three, 8 (2.7%) had four, 2 (0.7%) had five while one female was found to have six positive risk factors for breast cancer. Some 66 women (22%) experienced symptoms of breast cancer such as non-cyclical pain and lumps. While 222 women (74%) had never performed breast self-examination, 22 (7.3%) had had a breast examination done by a health professional while 32 (10.7%) had participated in breast screening programs. A total of 223 (74.3%) women considered breast cancer screening important for young women. Conclusions: The percentage of young women with risk factors for breast cancer was found to be alarmingly high. Therefore, screening for breast cancer should start at an early age especially in high risk groups. Awareness about breast self-examination should be emphasized. Moreover, screening programs should be started to ensure early detection and reduction of mortality rates caused by breast cancer also in young Pakistani females.
Five new asymmetric NFA-based polymer solar cells i.e., N1-N5 are designed by doing modi cation in terminal groups of the acceptor part of experimentally synthesized reference molecule with (4,4,9,9tetramethyl-4,9 dihydroselenopheno [2',3':5,6]-s-indaceno [1,2-b] thiophene) core. Frontier molecular orbital analysis is used to study their photovoltaic and optoelectronic properties. It con rmed the electrons' transportation from the donor to the acceptor part. It stated that all molecules have a lower bandgap than R and N2 has the lowest bandgap of 2.01 eV. The molecular orbital potential analysis con rmed the electron-withdrawing properties of the terminal groups. Optical properties studies evaluated maximum absorption with transition energies. All newly designed molecules N1-N5 show higher λ max values than R i.e., in the range of 680-740 nm with N2 having the highest λ max of 735 nm and lowest transition energy of 1.69 eV. Dipole moment studies showed that N3 has a maximum dipole moment of 7-40 D with all others having comparable values. TDM plots con rmed the electron shifting from donor to acceptor region. Reorganization energy analysis showed that N1 and N3 have the lowest reorganization energy values thus giving the highest electron mobilities. V oc calculated results of all molecules N1-N5 have lower values than R when coupled with PTB7-Th donor polymer. Charge transport analysis of N2 and PTB7-Th coupled molecule con rmed the acceptor type nature of our designed molecules. Highlights 1. Asymmetric fullerene free acceptor molecules (N1-N5) are studied for organic solar cells applications.2. Signi cant lowering of energy gap with concomitant red shifting of the absorption spectra is achieved with end-group engineering.3. The acceptors molecules show lower binding energy and excellent electron and hole reorganizational energies.4. All acceptor molecules have remarkable optoelectronic properties compared to reference R.
Background and objectives The frequency of COVID-19-positive or suspicious patients grew steadily, and these patients were received in emergency and outpatient departments at an unprecedented pace for the need of an elective or emergent surgical assessment. We conducted this survey to document the number of surgeries performed on COVID-19-positive patients during the ongoing pandemic at a tertiary care center in Pakistan. Materials and methods A retrospective clinical audit was conducted in a tertiary care hospital that receives surgical cases from almost all over the country. Ethical approval was granted prior to the execution of this intra-departmental audit. Both patients who were admitted to general surgery and visited on a consultative basis in other departments during the year 2020 were evaluated, and only those having COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive were included. Those with PCR-negative were omitted from the analysis. All the surgical procedures performed in these patients, along with those managed conservatively, were analyzed. Basic and demographic data of all patients were collected from electronic medical records. The data were defined as either mean and standard deviation or frequency and relative percentages. The normality of the data was verified by the Shapiro-Wilk test. Parametric analysis was used to interpret the disparity in descriptive statistics. Although the categorical results were compared by cross-tabulation, the degrees of significance were calculated either by chi-square test or Fisher's exact test according to the distribution of the data. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant (two-tailed). Results A total of 79 COVID-19-positive patients were provided with surgical services and subsequently analyzed. The mean age of those patients was 48.88 ± 16.62 years. The mean length of stay in the hospital was 2.10 ± 3.52 with indifference among gender and mode of treatment (either surgical or conservative). The study participants were 59.5% males and 40.5% females, and only 6.3% had a past surgical history. Most patients were admitted through the outpatient department (65.8%), and only a few were referrals from other departments (10.1%); 64.5% of patients were managed in general wards, 24.0% in critical care units, and 11.4% in intensive care units. Surgical intervention was done in 60.8% of the COVID-19-positive patients, while the rest 39.2% were conservatively managed. Among whom, 63.3% were discharged, 29.1% of them left against medical advice (LAMA), with a 7.6% death rate during the hospital stay. The frequent comorbidities were diabetes (27.8%) and hypertension (26.6%), although most patients had no comorbidities (49.3%). Symptomatic gall stones were the most frequent reason for surgical admission in COVID-19-positive patients, while the most frequent surgical intervention performed was laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Males were comparatively managed more frequently by surgical intervention and ...
The extensive body of literature focuses on examining the role of social media apps in health-related matters. Conversely, developing county like Pakistan, there is lack of empirical evidence regarding social media app influence specifically on health-related matters in developing countries like Pakistan. The study aimed to examine the purpose of social media apps, commonly used apps, impact, and demographic attributes on health-related matters. Three domains of health (physical activity, weight loss, and nutritional choices) were considered among university students in Southern Punjab, Multan, Pakistan. This quantitative study was carried out on 200 university students aged 18-29 years, through a survey design. Results showed the primary reason for using social media apps is to gain health-related information, effectively and conveniently and YouTube is the most preferred application for this purpose. The impact of apps on health-related matters (physical activity, weight loss, and nutritional choices) was found to be significant and measured through regression analysis. Demographic variables, gender, and age were examined relative to study variables (app usage, physical activity, weight loss, and nutritional choices), gender differences are significant in health-related app usage and physical activity, while it remains insignificant in weight loss and nutritional choices. Age differences were significant in in-app usage, physical activity, weight loss, and nutritional choices. The key findings of this particular study could assist app developers and health practitioners to encourage the masses in adopting health-related behaviors and by providing sufficient introductory app-related information by creating realistic performance expectancy thus minimizing the risk perception of the masses.
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