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Objective: To analyze the perceptions of health care professionals from a variety of fields (Anesthesia, Radiology, Gynecology, Surgery, and Orthopedics) on inter-professional socialization in a clinical setting to determine any potential disparities between educational training and to identify gaps. Method: After obtaining ethical approval and informed consent, a cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2023 on 150 Healthcare professionals (Residents of Anesthesiology, Radiology, Gynaecology & Obstetrics, General Surgery and Orthopedics) working at CMH/PEMH. Consecutive non-probability sampling was utilized to collect the data. A closeended questionnaire with interprofessional socialization and valuing scale was administered to the participants, providing proper instructions through hard copy and Google Forms. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics were applied. Results: Study results revealed that participants developed a recognition of the advantages of inter-professional collaboration with the highest score of valuing patient-centred care followed by self-perception of team responsibility and the lowest score of comfort in working with others. Conclusion: This research gives a unique perspective on the experiences of health science professionals from various fields (Anesthesiology, Gynecology, Orthopedics, Radiology, and Surgery) in Interprofessional socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effects of carboplatin and alpha-tocopherol co-administration on gross kidney features and renal cortical tubules of carboplatin-treated rats. Study Design: Laboratory-based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College/National University of Medical Sciences Rawalpindi Pakistan, in collaboration with the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Pathology Lab Pak Emirates Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan to Dec, 2021. Methodology: Thirty adults "Sprague-Dawley rats" of both genders were used and were divided into three Groups. Group-A was the Control Group. Groups B and C were given injection carboplatin 2.5 mg/kg body weight intraperitoneally on the first day. Group-C was given vitamin E at a dose of 62.7 mg/kg body weight daily via oral gavage starting from the second day of the experiment till the end of 12 weeks. Rats were euthanized at the end, kidneys were dissected, and they were preserved in 10% formalin after gross inspection. Tissue processing and staining were performed. A microscopic study was done to observe proximal and distal tubule necrosis. Results: Thirty adult Sprague Dawley rats, of age 10-12 weeks, and weight 250.0±50.0 grams, were included, there was statistically significant difference in the animal weight difference (p=0.001), length of right kidneys (cm) (p=0.002), width of right kidney (cm) (p= 0.001) and weight of right kidney (gm) (p=0.012) kidneys and relative tissue body weight index (RTBWI) (p = 0.048) of Control Group-A and Experimental Group B and C. Conclusion: Alpha-tocopherol has an ameliorative effect on gross features of rat kidneys and renal cortical tubular necrosis after carboplatin-induced renal damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the ameliorative effects of Prolotherapy on the pain score of the gait cycle in Monosodium Iodoacetate (MIA) induced osteoarthritis in the rat knee joint. Study Design: Laboratory-based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad and Pathology Lab Pak Emirates Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from Aug to Nov 2021. Methodology: Thirty male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups (n=10 in each group). The control group was Group-A. To induce osteoarthritic changes in Group-B, a single dose of 1mg Monosodium Iodoacetate was injected intra-articularly into the right knee. Group-C received a single dose of 1mg Monosodium Iodoacetate injection in the right knee intra articularly to induce osteoarthritic changes, and was followed by 0.1ml Prolotherapy (3ml of 25% dextrose, 2ml of 2% Xylocaine, 1ml of injection thiamine, and 1ml of injection Methylcobalamin) at 2, 6 and 10 weeks intra articularly into the right knee joint. Before euthanasia, Pain scoring schemes for gait in rats of all groups were done at 0, 2 and 14 weeks. Results: The present study concluded that prolotherapy improved the gait cycle pain score in experimental group C (p-value 0.001 on the intergroup comparison at two weeks and 14 weeks while p-value 0.001 when compared pain score within the Group C at 0, 2 and 14 weeks). Conclusion: Prolotherapy had ameliorative effects on the pain score of the gait cycle in experimental Group C on Monosodium Iodoacetate induced osteoarthritic changes in the knee joint of a rat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the practice of waterfall life cycle functions in the health profession department of medical institutes by keeping in view the demographic factors of health professions managers. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: Medical Institutes of Rawalpindi and Islamabad Pakistan, from Feb to Jul 2021. Methodology: 46 managers were taken as a sample through a systematic random sampling technique. A self-developed questionnaire was used, and it contained 21 items. Mean and standard deviation were used to measure the practices of waterfall agile management, and t-test and ANOVA were used to test the effect of gender and experiences. Results: Managers were not fully confident about the practices of water fall life cycle functions in their respective organization (Mean=3.08 ± 1.19). Gender has no significant effect on required analysis (p=0.861); design stage (p=0.625); test (p=0.222); deployment (p=0.718) and development (p=0.432) while monitoring and evaluation had significant effect (p=0.042). Similarly, managers' experience has significant effect on required analysis (p=0.013); test (p=0.001); deployment (p=0.001) and development (p=0.002) while it has no significant effect on design stage (p=0.062) and monitoring and evaluation (p=0.060) in medical institutes. Conclusion: Health profession managers were neutral about the practices of the waterfall life cycle of agile management in their respective medical institutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of variable durations of loud noise stress on the histomorphology of the thyroid gland in adult rats. METHODS: This laboratory-based experimental study was conducted at the Anatomy Department, Army Medical College/National University of Medical Sciences, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January to December 2020. Thirty Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups: Control group A (no noise exposure), experimental group B (100 dB noise for 4 hours daily), and experimental group C (100 dB noise for 6 hours daily) for four months. At the end of the experiment, the rats were weighed, euthanized, and their thyroid glands removed. The glands were analyzed microscopically after Haematoxylin and Eosin staining, measuring the diameter and epithelial height of thyroid follicles. RESULTS: All rats remained healthy with no statistically significant differences in weight gain between the groups. The follicular epithelial height significantly increased in groups B (9.86±0.38 µm) and C (10.37±0.39 µm) compared to the control group A, (p-values <0.001 and 0.001, respectively). The follicular diameter significantly decreased in groups B (86.61±7.68 µm) and C (95.47±5.24 µm) compared to group A, (p-values <0.001 and 0.003, respectively. Microscopic examination revealed that experimental groups exhibited disrupted thyroid follicles and increased inflammatory infiltrates compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Exposure to variable durations of loud noise stress in adult rats leads to histomorphological changes in the thyroid gland, including increased follicular epithelial height and reduced follicular diameter. These findings are suggestive of potential hyperactivity of thyroid follicles in response to noise stress exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the effects of injection botox in masseter muscle on the morphometric measurement of underlying mandible and total body weight change in Sprague Dawley rats. Study Design: Laboratory-based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Anatomy Department, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, with collaboration with Military Hospital, Rawalpindi and National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, from Jun to Aug 2020. Methodology: Female sprague dawley rats, 10 weeks of age, weighing 200-250 gm were selected. They were housed in separate cages in animal house of NIH under standard laboratory conditions and received regular diet and water ad libitum. Animals were divided into three groups. Group-A served as control while group B and C were experimental groups. Group-B was sham injected whilst group-C was injected by injection botox in left masseter muscle. Initial and final weights of the rats were recorded. All the rats were sacrificed after completion of experimental period. Weight of left mandibles was recorded. All the specimens of mandibles were cleaned and the mandibular length, condylar head length and width were measured by Vernier caliper. Result: Total 30 sprague dawley rats were included in the study. Injection botox decreased the morphometric measurements of the mandible in experimental group-C when compared with control group-A and sham group-B with the statistically significant result (p<0.001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To identify the topics difficult to understand in learning Anatomy and to investigate the reasons of difficulty and their possible solutions. METHODS: This descriptive observational study was conducted at Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan from April to November 2019. Open ended and validated questionnaires were filled by 205 undergraduate medical students at the end of their academic year to ensure that complete course of anatomy including gross anatomy, histology and embryology were covered by students. Students were asked to specify the problem area, the subtopics, give the reasons for topics being difficult and mention possible solutions they think will help them in better understanding of these difficult areas. The problems having 5 or less number of responses were not included in the analysis. RESULTS: Embryology, histology & neuroanatomy were perceived as the most difficult areas by 89%, 62% & 61% of students respectively. Constraint of time (41% for gross anatomy & 26% for embryology), high difficulty level (35% for embryology & 29% for gross anatomy) and difficulty in differentiation of slides (34% for histology) were the main reasons for problems in understanding the topics. Use of more 3-D aids (61%) & revision classes along with written tests (39%) were commonest possible solutions for perceived difficulties by students. CONCLUSION: Embryology has been perceived as the most difficult topic of anatomy by the students of second year MBBS followed by gross anatomy and Histology. Time constrain was suggested as main reason and Use of 3-D aids as main solution for difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate histologically the deposition of iron in the epiphyseal cartilage of offspring's of dams given iron supplementation during pregnancy and lactation in rat model. Study Design: Laboratory based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi and National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad, from Mar to Nov 2016. Methodology: In this study, 16 female and 4 male adult rats were chosen for breading. After confirmation of pregnancy, pregnant rats were separated in two groups. One group was given oral iron supplementation for four weeks till delivery and half of the pups fed by mothers who were given iron during lactation. The other group was kept on normal lab diet. Deposition of iron in the epiphyseal cartilage of newborn rats after four weeks was evaluated histologically in pups. Results: Iron deposition was maximum in group C i.e. 1.30 ± 0.48; in group B it was 0.20 ± 0.44. Statistically significant iron deposition (p<0.001) was observed in the growth plate of off springs when mothers were given iron supplements during pregnancy and lactation. Conclusion: Present study proves that injudicious iron supplementation through pregnancy results in deposition of iron in epiphyseal growth plate of the fetus and it can have damaging effects on bones of fetus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effect of noise stress on Thyroid Stimulating Hormone in adult rats. Study Design: Laboratory-based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad, from Jan to Dec 2020. Methodology: A total of 30 adult Sprague Dawley rats were distributed into three groups as ten rats/group. Group A served as the control group, rats in group B were exposed to 100 dB noise for continuous 4 hours/day for four months, and the rats in group C were exposed to 100 dB noise for continuous 6 hours/day for four months. At the end of the study, serum samples were collected from the rats' tail veins. Thyroid-stimulating hormone levels were compared among the groups. Results: At the start of the study, mean serum thyroid stimulating hormone level of control group A rats was 0.34 ± 0.15 μIU/ml. Mean serum thyroid stimulating hormone level of experimental groups B and C rats at the start of the study was 0.46 ± 0.18 μIU/ml and 0.41 ± 0.14 μIU/ml, respectively Mean serum thyroid stimulating hormone of rats did not differ statistically significantly between the group p=0.26, By the end of study mean serum thyroid stimulating hormone level of control group A rats was 0.6 ± 0.2 μIU/ml. Mean serum thyroid stimulating hormone levels of experimental groups B and C rats at the end of the study were 1.32 ± 0.35 μIU/ml and 1.86 ± 0.67 μIU/ml, respectively, Mean serum thyroid stimulating hormone of rats differed significantly between the groups p<0.001. Conclusion: Loud noise exposure can lead to an increased level of mean serum thyroid stimulating hormone levels in adult rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the toxic effect of mosquito coil smoke inhalation on gross parameters of rat testis and explore the protective effect of Coenzyme Q10on testicular toxicity profile. Study Design: Laboratory-based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad, from Jan 2020 to Dec 2020. Methodology: This study was carried out among 30 male Sprague Dawley rats, distributed into three groups as 10 rats/group; group A served as control group, rats in group B were exposed to allethrin-based mosquito coil smoke 4hours/day for 12 weeks. Rats in group C were administered Coenzyme Q10 (10 mg/kg/day) via oral gavage for 12 weeks along with mosquito coil smoke exposure. At the end of study, gross parameters of body weight gain, testicular weight and volume, and relative tissue body weight index of testis were compared among groups. Results: Rats exposed to mosquito coil smoke alone showed significantly less weight gain (p<0.001)), testicular weight (p<0.001), volume (p<0.001), and relative tissue body weight index (p<0.001) as compared to control group. Rats administered Coenzyme Q10 along with mosquito coil smoke exposure exhibited significantly higher weight gain (p<0.001), testicular weight (p<0.001), volume (p<0.001) and relative tissue body weight index (p<0.001) as compared to rats exposed to mosquito coil smoke alone. Conclusion: Long-term inhalation of allethrin-based mosquito coil smoke caused testicular atrophy among rats, as evident by reduced testicular weight, volume and relative tissue body weight index. Whereas, prophylactic oral administration of Coenzyme Q10 among rats exposed to mosquito coil smoke prevented testicular toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore perceptions of medical students and faculty, regarding challenges of e-learning they faced, during COVID-19 pandemic. Study Design: Mixed method study (Quantitative and Qualitative - Phenomenological approach). Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College Pakistan, from Apr 2020 to Sep 2020. Methodology: A self-made questionnaire, having both qualitative and quantitative elements, was developed after interviews of participants. It was pilot tested, finalized and sent via Google forms. Total 318 students and 6 faculty members responded, data was transcribed verbatim, themes were identified, and qualitative inductive content analysis of participants" reports was done. Results: Twenty-seven subthemes were identified by analyzing students" and faculty perceptions. They were grouped under five major themes, namely, communicational, technological, institutional, related to educators and students. Conclusion: Despite limiting factors like communication gap, digital refugee faculty teaching digital native students, limited technical support, digital divide and unplanned curricular delivery, e-learning was found to be beneficial in terms of flexibility in timings, improving learners" self-efficacy, faculty transformation and gradual acceptance. Moreover, it provided opportunity for hybrid e-curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the prevalence of obesity in affluent school children in Multan. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Three private schools of Multan were selected. The study was carried out, from May 2015 to Nov 2015. Methodology: This study was conducted on 165 school children aged 5 years to 10 years from three affluent schools in Multan. In whole Multan region, there are 9 affluent schools. Cluster sampling was done and Multan region was divided into 3 clusters. Each cluster was allocated 3 schools. One school was selected by simple random sampling from each cluster. From each school 55 students were selected by simple random sampling. Results: Among 165 children included in study, 62 (38% ) were between 5-7 years and 103 (62%) were between 8-10 years of age, mean age was 8 ± 1.47 years, 107 (65%) were males and 58 (35% ) were females. Mean birth order was 2 ± 1.21, weight was 33.18 ± 8.25kg, height was 1.30 ± 0.08m and Body Mass Index (BMI) was 19.40 ± 3.26 kg/m2. Among 165 children 71 (43%) were found to be obese where as 94 (57%) were not obese. Out of 71 obese 37 (52%) were females while 34 (48%) were males. Conclusion: We concluded that the prevalence of obesity in affluent school children in Multan was high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the students' perception of insomnia at the university level and to determine the effects of demographic factors on their perception. Study Design: Cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Education and Department of English, International Islamic University, from Sept 2020 to Feb 2021. Methodology: This study involved twelve hundred and fifty (1250) university students. The insomnia questionnaire was developed after the exploratory factor analysis. Results: The findings of this study revealed that students at the university level suffer from a high rate of insomnia, but they did not take any steps to address it because they had a neutral perception toward the problem. There was no significant effect of semester-term and the type of department with insomnia (p=0.864 and p=0.648). Conclusion: Students were neutral about their insomnia problem at the university level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the ameliorative effects of therapeutic ultrasound and high frequency electromagnetic radiation on inflammation and proximal convoluted tubular diameter, after damage induced by wireless fidelity, on kidneys of chick embryo. Study Design: Laboratory based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College, in collaboration with Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine Rawalpindi, from May to Jun 2019. Methodology: Forty day “0” eggs of Fayomi breed weighing 48-50 grams were divided into four groups. Group A served as a control group while group B, C and D were the experimental groups exposed to wireless fidelity for 30 minutes daily for 15 days. Group C was further given therapeutic ultrasound while group D received high frequency electromagnetic radiation in the form of microwave diathermy. Results: Therapeutic ultrasound and high frequency electromagnetic radiations both improved the interstitial inflammation (p-value <0.001 on intergroup comparison), and proximal tubular diameter (group A = 59.52 ± 4.55 µm, group B = 75.48 ± 1.32µm, group C, = 61.15 ± 2.71µm, group D = 56.15 ± 1.94µm; p-value <0.001. Conclusion: Therapeutic ultrasound and high frequency electromagnetic radiation had ameliorative effects in reverting derangements induced by Wi-Fi in kidneys of chick embryo with HF-EMR being superior to ultrasound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the performance index of private and public sector hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: In a tertiary care hospitals (one private and one public sector) of Karachi, from Nov 2016 to Nov 2017. Methodology: A sample size of 153 were enrolled by purposive sampling technique. Performance index of both hospitals was compared by asking questions from the hospitals staff. Data were collected by the researcher using closed ended questionnaire. Results: Out of 153, 78 (51%) cases were for private hospitals and 75 (49%) cases were for public hospitals. While evaluating the performance index by hospital work area/unit elements, “Enough staff to handle workload" was significantly higher for private hospitals with the p-value of <0.05. Performance index by Supervisor/Manager elements showed that "Whenever pressure builds up, the supervisor/manager wants us to work faster, even if it means taking shortcuts" was significantly higher for private hospitals with a p-value of <0.05. "Staff are afraid of asking questions when something seems does not right" is the lowest-rated elements on overall with an index score of 41.99 for overall and for public and private hospitals index score is 40.67 and 43.27 respectively. No statistically significant difference was observed on the rest of the elements. Conclusion: The performance index was higher in private hospital as compared to the public sector hospital in the Karachi city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare cross-cultural followership styles of resident trainees. Study Design: Cross-sectional quantitative study. Place and Duration of Study: Followership styles of trainees in four provinces of Pakistan, from Jun 2019 to Dec 2019. Methodology: The survey of 300 resident trainees was done by direct administration of survey packets in the respective institutes. It included, consent form, demographic survey, return envelope and Kelley’s followership survey forms. The participants responded to each question. They were instructed to respond to a question with information that was to the best of their knowledge in the event that they were uncertain of its answer. Results: Total 281 medical trainees participated in the survey. The age ranged from 20 years to 54 years with mean age of 30.62 ± 4.87 years. A total of 139 (49.5%) males and 142 (50.5%) females participated in the study. One hundred and fifty six (55.5%) from civil hospitals and 125 (44.5%) from military hospitals. Most frequent followership style was pragmatist, 62 (44.6%) in male and effective, 64 (45.0%) in females. Effective followership style was most frequent in Hyderabad 14 (50%), Karachi 16 (61.5%), Lahore 18 (35.2%) and Quetta 19 (46.3%). Peshawar had equal effective and pragmatist styles i.e. 29 (42.6%) whereas, in Rawalpindi most common style was pragmatist 33 (41.7%). Conclusion: This article provides new understandings of the multiple ways in which followership is experienced in the healthcare workplace in different cultural settings. Understanding the follower will have the purpose to educate leaders how to be more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To elucidate the frequency of intentional and unintentional non-adherence to medication among patients of different systemic diseases. Study Design: Comparative cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Pak Emirates Military Hospital and Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from Nov 2018 to Jun 2019. Methodology: A total of 80 patients belonging to 4 system specific diseases Asthma, Myocardial infarction (MI), Stroke, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) were recruited. Twenty patients in each group were taken for comparison of medication adherence in their respective disease. Diagnostic Adherence Medication Scale (DAMS) was used for the purpose of data collection. Results: Overall there were 24 (30%) females and 56 (70%) were male patients. Diagnostic adherence medication scale revealed that 40% of the sample was non adherent and 60% were adherent towards their respective medication. Further in non-adherent 23.57% were un-intentionally non-adherent. Non adherence was found more in stroke patients. Chronic kidney disease patients were found most adherent towards medications (70%). Conclusion: The present study highlighted unintentional medication non adherence as a significant barrier for providing complete medical care to the patients of the selected diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effects of hormone replacement on gross appearance, total body weight and volume of liver in ovariectomized rats. Study Design: Laboratory-based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad, from Mar to Jun 2019. Methodology: Forty, female, healthy, non-pregnant, Sprague dawley rats, 5-6 months of age, weighing 250 ± 10g, were randomly divided into 4 equal groups (A, B, C and D). Group A served as control and group B was sham operated. Group C i.e. ovariectomized group underwent ovariectomy but was kept untreated. Group D underwent ovariectomy and was treated with injection estradiol (Inj Gravibinan, 2ml, Medipharm. Mfg. Co, Ltd) 2.5 mg/kg via subcutaneous route once weekly for 60 days. All animals were sacrificed after the last injection of estradiol as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to group D. Gross parameters of liver were observed. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 22. The p-value of ≤0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Ovariectomized (OVX) group showed marked change in colour and consistency of liver, increased total body weight and volume of liver. While these changes started reverting back towards normality in treated group. Conclusions: Injection of hormone replacement therapy improved the gross parameters of liver in treated group, 12 weeks after surgery as compared to untreated group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To ingress the austerity of symptoms of anxiety of the first-degree relatives that report to the hospital at the time at which their relative has to go a surgical procedure. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, from Jan 2014 to Oct 2014. Methodology: The sample consisted of 307 relatives of surgery inpatient at Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi. Attendants present at the time of surgical procedure above the age of 18 years and below 60 years were included. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale was used as the questionnaire for data collection. Simple random sampling technique was adopted where every fourth attended was included in the study. Results: Out of 307 sample population, 45.9% had severe level of anxiety, at the time when their relatives were in operating rooms. When we compared anxiety with age groups, 54 people fell in age group 21-30 years. In these, 18 individuals had mild anxiety, 16 had moderate anxiety and 20 had severe anxiety. The second age group had was between 31-40 years. In this age group, 12 had severe anxiety. The 41-50 years of group age, 43 had mild anxiety, 42 had moderate anxiety and 53 had severe anxiety. Conclusions: The impassioned abutment and complacency of relative's essentialities should be preeminence to prevent anxiety and other disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the effects of commercial green tea on ibuprofen induced effects on luminal diameter of proximal renal tubule in adult rat. Study Design: Laboratory based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College Rawalpindi and National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad, from Mar 2017 to May 2017. Methodology: Thirty healthy adult Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups, each containing 10 animals. Schedule of intervention was once a day for a period of 8 weeks. Group Awascontrol. Group B received only ibuprofen 120 mg/kg bodyweight once daily. Group C was given green tea 1ml/100 mg bodyweight in addition to ibuprofen 120mg/kg bodyweight, once a day. At the end of 8 weeks, all animals were sacrificed and kidneys were dissected out. Renal tissue was then prepared for histological study. Luminal diameters of proximal renal tubules were measured. Results: Luminal diameter of proximal renal tubule was found significantly reduced (4.79 ± 0.92μm) in experimental group B (ibuprofen only), as compared to those in control group A (13.073 ± 1.02μm) and in experimental group C (12.67 ± 1.34μm). However, the reduction in proximal luminal diameter in group C was not significant as compared to group A. Conclusion: Ibuprofen caused reduction in proximal luminal diameter in kidneys of adult rats. However, administration of green tea along with ibuprofen protects against the adverse effects of the drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the teaching qualities of supervisors in post graduate residency training. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: This multicenter study was conducted at four medical colleges and six affiliated postgraduate training institutions of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, from Feb to May 2017. Methodology: Total 242 post graduate trainees evaluated teaching qualities of their supervisors on a five point likert scale of SETQ tool. Trainees having experience of more than six months enrolled in all post graduate courses like MCPS, FCPS, MS/MD and M.Phil were included in this study from basic, preclinical and clinical specialties. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 21. Frequencies were calculated for computed scores categories of individual domain as well as for total SETQ computed scores. Chi square test was applied to find out association between SETQ computed scores and age, gender, specialty, qualification and duration of experience of supervisors as well as for different variables related to trainees. Results: Cronbach’s α value of tool was 0.73. Overall teaching practices were categorized as “Good” by 220 (90.9%) trainees. More than 85% trainees evaluated their supervisors as “Good” regarding each of individual domains (Professional attitude, learning climate and evaluation) of SETQ except for communication of goals and feedback domain. Lowest evaluation scores (79.3%) were observed for “Feedback” domain. Statistically significant association was found between SETQ score and qualification of supervisors (p=0.04). Conclusion: Despite of work load and patient care responsibilities, the supervisors are evaluated to have good teaching qualities and practices by postgraduate trainees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To observe the effect of lagenaria siceraria on inflammation and fibrosis brought about by arsenic in liver of Sprague Dawley rat. Study Design: Laboratory based randomized control trial. Place and Duration of Study: This experiment was performed at Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College Rawalpindi in co-operation with National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad for eight weeks (1st March 2017 to 25th April 2017). Material and Methods: Fifty Sprague Dawley rats (both male and females housed separately) were carefully chosen and distributed randomly into five groups, each consisting of 10 animals. A and B were the control groups whereas C, D and E served as experimental groups. During the first four weeks, experiment groups C, D and E were given a dosage of 5milligram/kilogram body weight of sodium arsenite. At the end of four weeks, animals from control group A and experimental group C were dissected and liver samples were processed for microscopic studies. In the next 4 weeks, group D animals were set aside without any further intervention. At that time, sodium arsenite at a dose of 5 milligram/kilogram body weight and lagenaria siceraria at a dose of 100 milligram/kilogram bodyweight were administered to group E animals. Group B animals served as control for experimental groups D and E. At the end of these 4 weeks animals of groups B, D and E were dissected. Results: Experimental group C developed moderate grade fibrosis and inflammation (grade 2 to 3) as compared to group A. Degree of inflammation and fibrosis was mild to moderate (grade 1 to 2) in group D. There was no inflammation and fibrosis (Grade 0 to 1) in group E. Group B served as a control for group D and E. Conclusion: Inflammation and fibrosis developed in the liver of adult rats when they were subjected to sodium arsenite even for a brief calculated period. Simultaneous administration of lagenaria siceraria can shield and diminish the toxic effects of arsenic. Oxidative potential and immunomodulatory properties and presence of flavonoid like substances renders lagenaria siceraria to act as ameliorative against this fibrosis and inflammation in liver lobules and surrounding area of portal triads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to document the perception of postgraduate medical supervisors about the importance of effective educational/academic leadership in promoting educational progress. Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College and public sector medical institutes from May 2017 to November 2017. Study Design: Descriptive Cross-sectional. Subject and Methods: Open ended questionnaire data was collected from the 32 medical supervisors of postgraduate courses from both basic and clinical disciplines inducted in the study by convenient purposive sampling after taking informed written consent. The approval of the ethical committee constituted at Army Medical College, was officially taken. The supervisors were purposely divided into two groups. Group A (n=11) consisted of senior supervisors of more than five years of experience of supervision out of which 6 were from basic medical sciences and 5 were from clinical medicine. Group B (n=21) consisted of fresh supervisors out of which 6 were from basic medical sciences and 15 were from clinical medicine. It comprises of two phases First phase (survey questionnaire) spanned from May 2017 to November 2017. Second phase in process comprises of selective interviews of the supervisors. Qualitative thematic analysis of all the questions was done while one question was analyzed by quantitative analysis. Results: Experienced supervisors thought strong academic knowledge as key quality with good communication skills and continuous motivation for the leaders. They expressed that ineffective leadership can hamper the learning progress and demotivate the trainers. According to fresh supervisors academic training of trainees along with collaboration with other members is a milestone to be achieved and ineffective leadership results in many malpractices. None of the participants thought themselves as aggressive but claimed as assertive, supportive and very adaptive. They considered maintaining healthy relationship with students helps in constructive feedback. Conclusion: Strong academic knowledge with good communication skills and continuous motivation for the leaders was identified as a pivotal component for imparting quality education in the institution. Ineffective leadership was identified to result in hampering the learning process, demotivating trainers and malpractices. Maintenance of healthy relationship between trainer and student helped in constructive feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the finding of interviews to explore perception of strugglers in Medical Collage. Aim of study was to acquire into those circumstances which drive strugglers into Medical Collages short of their goals leading towards failures. Utilizing the qualitative research design information was gathered through classroom observations and student interviews. Improved understanding of what motivates students will prompt them to modify their strategy so as to foster self-directed efforts towards their goals. Students who lack motivation intermixes intellectual ability, content knowledge, emotional stamina and goal striving with diverse learning environments. Attributional retraining (AR) is a motivation-enhancing treatment designed to offset the dysfunctional explanatory thinking that can arise from lack of motivation, lame excuses often raised by students of their failure and unsatisfactory learning experiences. The theme includes academic performance, failure and motivation level which translate academic efforts into strugglers perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the histomorphological effects of platelet rich plasma infusion on number of chondrocytes in articular cartilage of monosodium iodoacetate induced osteoarthritic rat knee model. Study Design: Experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi from March to May 2018. Methodology: Thirty two healthy adult male rats of 3-4 months of age weighing 200-300 gm were taken. Animals were divided into two groups A and B as control and experimental with 8 and 24 animals respectively. Group B was further subdivided into B1, B2 and B3 with 8 animals in each group. All rats were injected with 50 µl of monoiodoacetate solution in the right knee. Group B1 along with group A was sacrificed on day 14 for establishing the presence of histological features of osteoarthritis (OA). Group B2 was injected with single dose of platelet rich plasma on day 18. Group B3 was not given any treatment. All animals were sacrificed 4 weeks after the injection of platelet rich plasma (PRP) in group B2. Number of chondrocytes was observed. Results were analyzed using SPSS v 21. Results: Significant decrease in chondrocyte count was noted in group B3 as compared to group B2 in which PRP therapy was given. Conclusion: Platelet rich plasma infusion prevented chondrocyte apoptosis in the treated group as compared to the untreated group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effects of autologous platelet-rich plasma on arrangement of collagen fibers at injured Achilles tendon entheses in rabbits. Study Design: Laboratory-based experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad, from March to May, 2018. Material and Methods: Forty, healthy, male, “New Zealand white rabbits”, 4-6 months of age, weighing 2000-2500g, were randomly divided into 4 equal groups (A, B, C and D). Group A served as control, while B, C and D were experimental groups. Injuries were surgically induced at Achilles tendon entheses of rabbits of experimental groups, which were treated with injections of autologous platelet-rich plasma, either at the time of inducing injury or two weeks after injury in groups C and D respectively while group B was left untreated. Animals were sacrificed after 12 weeks. Tissues were processed and stained for histological evaluation. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 22. A p-value of ≤0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Experimental group B showed marked deterioration in Bonar’s modified score for arrangement of collagen fibers as compared to the control group A. The scores were significantly improved in treatment groups C and D as compared to group B. Conclusions: Injection of autologous platelet-rich plasma effectively improved the Bonar modified score for arrangement of collagen fibers at injured entheses, 12 weeks after injury as compared to non-treatment group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of Ficus carica on lead acetate induced changes in the height of germinal epithelium of seminiferous tubules in testes of adult rats. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted for a period of 8 weeks at Departments of Anatomy and Pathology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad Pakistan. Material and Methods: Thirty healthy adult male Sprague-dawley rats were selected by simple random sampling and divided into three groups. Each group consisted of 10 animals. Group A served as control. Group B was given lead acetate 30 mg/kg body weight/day. Group C received Ficus carica 80 mg/kg bodyweight/day in addition to lead acetate 30 mg/kg bodyweight/day. The dose was administered once a day for a period of 8 weeks. Twenty-four hours after administration of last dose, the animals were sacrificed and testes were removed. Testicular tissue was processed and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Height of germinal epithelium of the seminiferous tubules was measured. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results were considered significant at p-value<0.05. Results: In experimental group B, significant decrease in height of germinal epithelium was observed as compared to the control group of the germinal epithelium. In experimental group C, the height increased as compared to experimental group B. Conclusion: Our study proposes that the laboratory induced deleterious effects of lead acetate in the testes of adult rats may be limited by administering concomitant supplement of Ficus carica in adult rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To find out the knowledge and preferences of a rural hypertensive populace. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Conducted at the Basic Health Unit (BHU) Mangat Neecha in March, 2018. Material and Methods: Systematic, probability sampling was done. A total of 143 hypertensive patients regardless of age labeled as hypertensive: Visiting from each of the 12 villages under charge of each Lady Health Worker; within the BHU Mangat Neecha bracket were included in the study. Informed consent was taken from all the patients who participated in the study and the data were analyzed using SPSS 20. Results: Eighty-four (58%) patients who did not know of their normal blood pressure, 100 (70%) patients either did not know or were not told of their high BP by their healthcare provider. Sixty four (45%) patients did not consider hypertension a serious life threat. Only 29 (20%) patients could correctly identify the SBP (Systolic Blood Pressure 120 mmHg) number and another 16 (11%) the DBP (Diastolic Blood Pressure), 32 (22.3%) patients agreed having resorted to alternative cures for their illness like homeopathy etc. Eighty four (58%) patients had the perception of hypertension being a normal part of ageing and 60% (n=86) considered it incurable. While 100 (70%) patients agreed the role of medication in BP control and 133 (93%) supported the claim of exercise being of help, only 16 (11%) patients gave weight age to dietary/behavioral changes as an integral part of attaining adequate blood pressure control. Conclusion: Our results suggested existence of inadequate knowledge and awareness about hypertension amongst the hypertensive patients at grass roots level. In general, they fail to recognize hypertension as a very serious health concern owing to lack of percolating public healthcare awareness initiatives. Therefore, extensive patient education and counseling is necessary to improve the adherence of patients to antihypertensive medications as well as better equip them to understand its affects on decreasing their cardiovascular event risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of topically applied paraphenylene diamine (PPD) on medulla of ovary in Sprague dawley rat. Study Design: Laboratory based randomized control trial. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Anatomy Department, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi; in collaboration with animal house, National Institute of Health, Islamabad. The study duration was one year, from Jan 2016 to Dec 2016. Material and Methods: Forty adult Sprague Dawley female rats, weighing 200-300 grams, were used and divided into 4 groups with 10 rats in each group. Group A served as control group and animals were applied with distilled water on dorsal surface clipped free of hair. Group B, C and D were painted with 1mg, 2mg and 3mg per kg body weight of paraphenylene diamine in addition to distilled water on dorsal surface clipped free of hair. The solution was applied for 30 minutes daily for a continued duration of 60 days. All animals were sacrificed on day 60 and right ovary of each rat was removed, fixed in 10% formalin, processed and sectioned. For histological study haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stains were used. Results: On microscopic examination it was observed that topically applied paraphenylene diamine solution caused vascular congestion in the medulla of ovary. Conclusion: It was concluded from results that topically applied paraphenylene diamine solution induces medullary congestion in ovary of rat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the effects of daily oral iron supplementation during pregnancy on the histomorphology of rat placenta. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: NIH and Army Medical College Rawalpindi, from Oct 2010 to Jan 2011. Material and Methods: Thirty two adult female and ten adult male Sprague Dawley rats were taken. After pregnancy was confirmed they were divided randomly into two equal groups and Ferrous Sulphate (FeSO4) was administered at the dose of 0 mg/Kg body weight (control) and 10 mg/Kg body weight (Experimental), starting from gestation day 0 (GD 0). Half of the animals from each group were sacrificed at GD 17 and half at GD 20. The placentae were separated; sections were taken and processed for light microscopic examination. In H&E and PAS stained slides, thickness of labyrinthine zone, trophospongium zone and fetomaternal barrier was measured and number of giant cells were counted. Results: The results were assessed at GD 17 and GD 20. The results showed no significant difference in the histomorphology of placenta at GD 17. At GD 20, significant decrease in thickness of labyrinthine zone and trophospongium zone and significant reduction in the number of giant cells in experimental group as compared to the control group was noted. There is no significant difference in the thickness of fetomaternal barrier. Conclusion: Adequate iron supplementation is crucial for maintaining healthy pregnancy. Blood volume increases during pregnancy, so extra iron is needed to make more hemoglobin that is critical for the normal development of placenta especially duing the last trimester. There should be increased awareness regarding the need of healthy diet and iron supplementation at the beginning of the pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of transperineal ultrasonography in assessing the accurate cervical length at 24-32 weeks of gestation in comparison with the TVS as gold standard. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Radiology, CMH Multan, from 12th Apr 2014 to 11th Dec 2014. Material and Methods: A total of 157 patients of 20-35 years of age with singleton pregnancy of gestational age 24 to 32 weeks were included in the study. Patients with premature rupture of membrane, cervical incompetence, cervical injury, multiparity and h/o co-morbid conditions were excluded. Cervical length was measured first by transperineal ultrasound followed by trans-vaginal ultrasound. Results: Of the total 157 patients assessed, 96 were true positive, 4 were false positive, 13 were false negative and 44 were true negative. Among 57 transperineal ultrasound negative patients, 13 (False Negative) had short cervical length on trans-vaginal sonography where as 44 (True Negative) had normal length. So, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of transperineal sonography in assessing accurate cervical length are 88.07%, 91.67%, 96.0%, 77.19% and 89.17% respectively. Conclusion: This study concluded that transperineal sonography is a reliable, easily available and cost effective method with high diagnostic accuracy for assessing the cervical length at 24-32 weeks of gestation which nearly approaches the value of trans-vaginal sonography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the effects of Lagenaria siceraria and arsenic on size of Hepatic lobule of Sprague Dawley rat. Study Design: Laboratory-based randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, and National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, for eight weeks, from 20th Mar 2017 to 14th May 2017. Material and Methods: Fifty Sprague Dawley rats both male and female selected randomly and broadly allocated into five groups, each with 10 animals. Groups A and B animals were controls, C, D and E served as experimental groups. Sodium arsenite 5mg/kg body weight was initially given for a period of 4 weeks to the experimental groups C, D and E. After 4 weeks of therapy, the animals of groups A and C were sacrificed for histopathological study of liver to see the immediate effects of arsenic. Within the next 4 weeks group D animals were retained without any intervension. Group E animals were administered sodium arsenite (5mg/kg body weight) along with Lagenaria siceraria at a dose of 100mg/kg bodyweight. Group B served as a control for experimental group D and E. Animals of group B, D and E were sacrificed after last dose at the end these 4 weeks. Liver was removed and prepared for histological study. Size of hepatic lobule was studied. Data were analysed by SPSS V 22. A p- value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Moderate increase in the size of hepatic lobule was seen in group C as compared to control group A. Group D showed slight increase in size of hepatic lobule and group E showed normal size of hepatic lobule when compared with control group B. Conclusion: Sodium arsenite caused used disruption of hepatic architecture and increase in size of hepatic lobule of adult rats but administration of Lagenaria siceraria protected and reduced the arsenic-induced effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the spectrum and antimicrobial sensitivity of bacterial pathogens causing neonatal sepsis, in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi. Study Design: Prospective cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: This was a prospective cross sectional study, conducted at NICU of Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from Jul 2017 to Dec 2017. Material and Methods: All neonates admitted to our department who underwent evaluation for sepsis, from Jul 2017 to Dec 2017. Results: Out of 2,480 admitted neonates, 733 were suspected with sepsis, making an incidence of suspected neonatal sepsis to be 29.5%. 421 (57.4%) babies were suspected with early onset sepsis (EOS) and 312 (42.6%) with late onset sepsis (LOS). Majority of the babies (70.3%) were preterm. In 281 (11.3%) neonates, blood culture came out to be positive. 73/281 neonates with culture proven sepsis died making a mortality rate of 25.9%. Gram negative bacilli were most predominant among isolated bacteria. Most of the organisms showed resistance to the first line antibiotics. Conclusion: Sepsis has a high mortality rate in neonates admitted to our department. Gram negative organisms are the most common cause. Most of the isolated organisms are resistant to empirical antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the learning approaches of medical students in their pre-clinical years in a case based learning curriculum. Study Design: Descriptive (Quantitative) study. Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan 2017 to Jul 2017. Materials and Methods: Two hundred students from 2nd year MBBS participated in the study by filling a 52 items questionnaire-Approach and study skills inventory for students. Students' scores were measured separately for surface, deep and strategic approaches. Gender difference regarding the preferred approach of students was also found out. Analysis was carried out by using student t-test on Microsoft Excel Sheet. Results: There is a significant difference (p-value <0.05) between the number of surface learners when compared with number of deep and strategic learners. A preference for the deep or strategic approaches has been noticed in both female and male students. Conclusion: The study provided evidence that even in very initial years of medical studies where case based learning has been introduced as a student-centered strategy, it is promoting a deep or strategic learning approach in medical students. These approaches have been considered helpful in making students lifelong learners. It also helps in identifying the surface learners at the same time. Their identification will help and guide teaching faculty and the curriculum planners about the scope of different teaching modalities to be used in the best interest of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the association of total absenteeism and the CBL absenteeism among the undergraduate medical students. Study Design: A cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College and study was conducted in the month of June 2016. Material and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in the month of June 2016 among the Second MBBS course at the Army Medical College. Two hundred second year M.B.B.S. students were informed and invited to participate in the study. We gathered the information from the students on total number of CBL attended in the whole academic year, reason for missing Anatomy CBL, causes for absenteeism, annual total attendance percentage of the second year class, number of pass CBL sessions in second year. Suggestions for the improvement of the Anatomy CBL sessions were also recorded. Results: Out of 173 participants, there were 101 (58.4%) male and 72 (41.6%) female students with the mean age of 20.01 ± 0.69 years. There were 84 (48.6%) medical cadets, 12 (6.9%) paying cadets, 21 (12.1%) additional selected cadets, 46 (26.6%) NUMS cadets and 10 (5.8%) NUMS foreign cadets. Mean CBL attendance was 13.09 ± 1.87 with the range of 6-15. Mean attendance of classes other than CBL was 92.40 ± 6.55. The difference of CBL attendance between various categories of cadets was insignificant (p-value=0.18). Also, there was no effect of gender on the CBL attendance (p-value=0.10). Conclusion: Frequency of students with attendance in CBL sessions below 75% is significantly different than the frequency of students with attendance above 75%. This is an alarming finding as the cut off point for appearing in annual exam set by PMDC is 75% attendance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the effects of anastrozole use as hormonal treatment of breast cancer on the serum estrogen level in an animal model. Study Design: Laboratory based randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad, 7 months from Jun 2012 to Nov 2012. Material and Methods: Thirty adult female rabbits (New Zealand) average weight 1.2 to 2 kg and age between 6 months to 2 years were selected. Ten were kept in control group A and 10 were kept in experimental groups B and C each. Group B was given anastrozole in the dose parallel to normal human dose and group C was given a dose 10 times higher than the normal dose for six months. After the completion of the study blood estrogen levels were taken to evaluate serum estrogen level of the groups. The results were compared among the groups for statistical significance by using SPSS version 21. Result: After maintaining a steady dose of anastrozole in both experimental groups for six months, blood samples were taken to calculate the mean serum level of estrogen in each group the normal level was 186.1 ± 63.59 pmol/L in group A and 116.4 ± 48.58 pmol/L and 108.2 ± 20.40 pmol/L in experimental groups B and C respectively. The p-value was 0.008 which was statistically significant. The p-value between the control and experimental group C was 0.003 which is also highly significant. The comparison of the serum estrogen levels of both the experimental groups B and C was found to be statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Adminstration of normal dose of anastrazole decreases serum estrogen levels. This decrease is significant statistically. Increasing the dose of anastrozole decreases the serum estrogen levels but this decrease is not significant statistically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the age related changes in thickness of skin epidermis in different age groups in the Pakistani population. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, for a period of five months, from Jul 2010 to Nov 2010. All protocols were approved by the Ethical committee of centre for research in experimental and applied medicine (CREAM), Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. Patients and Methods: In this study, 60 volunteers of both genders, fulfilling the inclusion criteria, were divided according to age, into three equal groups, 18-29 years, 30-49 years, and more than 50 years, Groups A, B and C respectively. All study participants gave written consent before their inclusion in the study Four-mm fullthickness punch biopsy of sun protected upper arm skin of left side was obtained from each individual after administration of local anesthetic injection. The samples were stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin for histomorphological study and comparison of epidermal thickness was done between the three groups. In each section, the epidermal thickness was measured at three points to determine maximum thickness, under 10X objective. Mean of three readings of each sample was taken. Then, mean of each group was taken and that of the three groups was compared to determine the presence or absence of epidermal atrophy. Results: There was no appreciable difference in epidermal thickness between the three groups. Mean of group A was 144.833 μm, that of group-B was 142.833 μm and the mean value of group C was 125.5 μm. Conclusion: It was concluded that, although human skin markedly deteriorates visibly with age, the epidermal thickness remains constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effect of caffeine and vitamin D3 on the height of proliferative and hypertrophy zones of epiphyseal cartilage of developing femur of BALB/c mice. Study Design: Laboratory based randomized control trial. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at anatomy department, Army Medical College (AMC), Rawalpindi, in collaboration with National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad from Oct 2014 to Oct 2015. Material and Methods: A total of thirty (30) BALB/c mice (15 male, 15 female), three weeks old and weighing 12-14 g, were taken and divided in to three equal groups of 10 mice each (5 male, 5 female). The control group G1 was given normal diet with water ad libitum. In addition to the same diet, animals in experimental group G2 were given 10 mg of caffeine per 100 g body weight once a day on alternate days through oral gav age for 60 days. All animals of group G3 for 60 days were given caffeine 10mg/100gm body weight on alternate day and vitamin D3 0.1μg per day by oral gav age. At completion of the experiment, effect of caffeine and vitamin D3 on the height of proliferative and hypertrophy zones of epiphyseal cartilage of mice's femur was analyzed. Results: The mean ± SD of height of proliferative and hypertrophy zones of control group G1 animals was found to be 31.5 ± 4.1μm and 43 ± 2.6μm, respectively. The mean ± SD of height of proliferative and hypertrophy zones of experimental group G2 animals was observed as 59 ± 3.2μm and 72.5 ± 7.2μm, respectively. The mean ± SD of height of proliferative and hypertrophy zones of experimental group G3 animals was measured as 46 ± 4.6μm and 54 ± 4.6μm, respectively. Conclusion: Caffeine intake altered the height of proliferative and hypertrophy zones of the epiphyseal cartilage of developing femur; however treatment with vitamin D3 ameliorated this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]