Mobile banking has marked itself as an emerging technology adopted by banks around the globe. The purpose of this research is to identify the key factors of mobile technology adoption which influence customer satisfaction in Pakistan. Questionnaires are used to conduct data collection and then analyzed using statistical techniques: regression analysis, correlation and factor analysis. The findings show that customer's concerns about security, authenticity and reliability of the technology are of significance. The results imply that firms should focus upon IT application, innovative services, security, customer trust and risk as these are the key indicators of technology adoption.

During the current pandemic, Pakistan is badly affected. It has exerted great pressure on vigor as well as the psychology of the healthcare professionals. Limited resources, illiteracy, myths, and not following the proper protocol by the general population may have increased the risk for everyone, and anxiety and fear among the frontline healthcare professionals. Anxiety is a common response to any stressful situation and its the fear of the unknown and it may have multiple consequences.In the current study, we attempted to analyze the fear and anxiety among the healthcare professionals of Pakistan.Methodology: An online questionnaire-based survey was performed using a non-probability snowball sampling technique. The questionnaire was validated and comprised of demographics and 10 questions regarding fear and anxiety as per fear of coronavirus-19 scale (FCV-19S). SPSS 21 was used for data analysis.Data of 404 participants analyzed. A significant difference between gender, age group, and the profession was found (p<0.05). Out of 404 participants, 322 (79.70%) were considered to have high and severe anxiety (p=0.020). Based on the results anxiety was reported higher among the nurses and in females. A significant relationship was observed between fear and anxiety score and the different healthcare professionals with p value< 0.001 (Multilinear regression).Concerning the high occurrence of anxiety and fear among healthcare professionals appropriate psychological/psychiatric intervention necessitates and emphasizes the need to implement urgent measures.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the level of anxiety and fear among Pakistani dentists due to COVID-19. METHODOLOGY: Data of 386 dentists evaluated who responded to the questionnaire sent via social media. Fear of coronavirus scale (FCV-19S) was used for evaluation of fear among Pakistani dentists. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21. One way ANOVA, chi-square and independent t-test were used for statistical analysis. P-value <0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: The overall mean FCV-19S score was 26.22 ± 4.907, which is on the higher end. Females showed higher fear scores as compared to males (p<0.001). A statistically significant difference between the scores of General Dental Practitioners (GDP) and specialists was also observed (p<0.001), Statistically, a significant difference was observed between all 4 age groups of dentists, young and elderly dentists demonstrating higher scores (F (3,382) = 8.618, p< 0.001). CONCLUSION: We conclude that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, majority of the dentists of Pakistan are afraid and among them, females, GDPs, young and elderly dentists are found to be more anxious and have a greater fear of getting infected by coronavirus during COVID 19 Pandemic. KEYWORDS: Anxiety, Fear, Pakistani, Dentist, COVID-19 HOW TO CITE: Majeed MM, Saleem Z, Sarwar H, Ramzan Z, Iqbal SN, Naeem MM. The psychology of coronavirus fear: Are dentists of pakistan suffering from corona-phobia?. J Pak Dent Assoc 2021;30(1):1-6.

Background Oral squamous cell carcinoma is a global threat and accounts for approximately 90% of malignant oral lesions. The emergence of oral carcinoma is linked to precancerous lesions, which act as precursors of the disease. Matrix metalloproteinases appear to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of both precancerous conditions and oral malignancies due to their participation in remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Methodology This is an analytical study conducted at Dow University of Health Sciences, Pakistan. Unstimulated saliva samples were collected from healthy, oral submucous fibrosis and oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. The level of MMP-12 was estimated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. One-way Analysis of variance was run to determine if MMP-12 levels differ between the three groups, which was preceded by post hoc Tuckey test. MMP-12 cut off values were determined using Receiver operating characteristic curve. Results A significant difference in salivary MMP-12 expression was observed in OSF and OSCC (p < 0.001). The expression of salivary MMP-12 was higher in OSF and OSCC patients as compared to the healthy group (p < 0.001). The mean MMP-12 expression in OSCC appeared higher than in OSF cases (p < 0.05). MMP-12 value of $$\ge$$ ≥ 4.05 ng/ml and $$\ge$$ ≥ 4.20 ng/ml is predictive of OSF and OSCC respectively, with 100% sensitivity and specificity (p < 0.001). Conclusion Increased expression of MMP-12 appears as the healthy patient advances to OSF and OSCC. The study results also demonstrate higher MMP-12 expression in OSCC patients as compared to OSF. Therefore, the estimation of salivary MMP-12 serves as a valuable non-invasive early diagnostic tool in diagnosing oral submucous fibrosis and oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Oral cancer accounts for nearly one-fifth of all cancers in males and one-tenth in females globally. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 90% of the oral cancer. The occurrence rate of oral cancer is higher in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. In South Asia oral cancer constitutes 25% of all new cancer reported among males. The estimated incidence of oral cancer in Pakistan is 14.7%. Methods: A cross sectional observational study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi with a sample of 145 patients with pathological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity. Patients were characterized into early stage (I and II) and advanced stage (III and IV), according to AJCC classification of tumors (2010). Data entry and analysis was carried out on SPSS 19. Qualitative data was expressed in percentages and results were accessed by Chi squared test. Results: The mean age was recorded 47.87 ± 12.50 years. Males participants were 63.4% and 36.6% females were incorporated in our study. More than half came with the Stage IV. 35.2% of participants became aware of their initial symptom before 6 months before pursuing any doctor. 83% patients presented with noteworthy habit of Tobacco or Chalia chewing. Bulk of the participants stated that they would have presented before if they had knowledge about the disease. 85% thought that increasing awareness of oral cancer through media may decrease the time in seeking help from qualified doctor. Conclusion: The study concludes that most of the participants presented late to the professional because of lack of knowledge about signs and symptoms of oral malignancy.