Background
Women in Pakistan lack appropriate awareness about diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer due to a range of multifaceted barriers. There is a dearth of literature examining the socio-cultural factors that inhibit women from breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment in Punjab, Pakistan. Addressing this gap, this qualitative study sought to identify and explore the barriers that hinder women from seeking timely screening and treatment.
Methods
In this process 45 women (age = 18–50 years) with breast cancer were purposively sampled and interviewed from the Punjab Institute of Nuclear Medicine (PINUM) hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Results
An inductive approach was used to analyze the data which resulted in the emergence of eight subthemes under the umbrella of three major themes that delineate individual, socio-cultural and structural barriers to seek screening and treatment of breast cancer in Punjab. Individual barriers included lack of awareness, hesitance in accepting social support, and spiritual healing. The identified socio-cultural factors included feminine sensitivity, stigmatization, and aversion to male doctors. Lack of financial resources and apathetic medical services were structural barriers that hinder screening and treatment.
Conclusions
These barriers can be addressed through raising awareness and community mobilization about breast-self exam and treatment. The healthcare system should also pay attention to socio-psychological and cultural factors impeding women's access to available health facilities.
Low temperature and high humidity conditions significantly
degrade
the performance of solid-state lubricants consisting of van der Waals
(vdW) atomic layers, owing to the liquid water layer attached/intercalated
to the vdW layers, which greatly enhances the interlayer friction.
However, using low temperature in situ atomic force
microscopy (AFM) and friction force microscopy (FFM), we unveil the
unexpected ultralow friction between two-dimensional (2D) ice, a solid
phase of water confined to the 2D space, and the 2D molybdenum disulfides
(MoS2). The friction of MoS2 and 2D ice is reduced
by more than 30% as compared to bare MoS2 and the rigid
surface. The phase transition of liquid water into 2D ice under mechanical
compression has also been observed. These new findings can be applied
as novel frictionless water/ice transport technology in nanofluidic
systems and promising high performance lubricants for operating in
low temperature and high humidity environments.
Microsponge refers to a highly cross-linked particle system with a capacity to adsorb (like a dry sponge) pharmaceutical materials. There are various methods available to prepare microsponge formulations, in this study we used quasi emulsion-solvent diffusion method with a combination of hydrophobic (ethyl cellulose) and hydrophilic (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) polymers mediated via Tween 80 and polyvinyl alcohol. Various ratios and amounts of the polymers and surfactants were used to prepare microsponge formulations using ketoprofen as a model drug and extensively characterised. Our results, for the first time, indicate successful and optimised formulation with desired pharmaceutical characteristics using a combination of hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers.
The sensitivity of various solar photovoltaic technologies towards dust, temperature and relative humidity is investigated for Qatar's environment. Results obtained show that dust accumulation has the great effect on decreasing Amorphous and Mono-crystalline PV's efficiency than the panel's temperature augmentation or relative humidity. The study shows that Amorphous PVs are more robust against dust settlement than Mono-crystalline PVs and hence are more suitable for implementation in desert climates like Qatar. It was estimated that 100 days of dust accumulation over Mono-crystalline PV panels, caused the efficiency to decrease by 10%. This limitation makes solar PV an unreliable source of power for unattended or remote devices and thus strongly suggests the challenge of cleaning the panel's surface regularly or injecting technical modifications. Also, the study assesses how best to operate solar PV plants during peak sunlight hours to optimize production and minimize the sun's harsh effects.
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