Search

Indoor air pollution (IAP) has adverse effects on the health of people, globally. The objective of this systematic review was to present the range of health problems studied in association with indoor air pollutants in South Asian countries. We searched five databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and CAB Direct for articles published between the years 2000 and 2020. We retrieved 5,810 articles, out of which we included 90 articles in our review. Among South Asian countries, only five countries have published results related to relationship between indoor air pollutants and adverse health conditions. All studies have shown adversity of indoor air pollutants on human's health. We found indoor solid fuel burning as a key source of indoor air pollution in the included studies, while women and children were most affected by their exposure to solid fuel burning. More than half of the studies accounted particulate matter responsible for indoor air pollution bearing negative health effects. In the included studies, eyes and lungs were the most commonly affected body organs, exhibiting common symptoms like cough, breathing difficulty and wheezing. This might have developed into common conditions like respiratory tract infection, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and eye cataract. In addition to promote research in South Asian countries, future research should focus on novel digital ways of capturing effects of indoor air pollutants among vulnerable segments of the population. As a result of this new knowledge, public health agencies should develop and test interventions to reduce people's exposure levels and prevent them to develop adverse health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Currently 11 infectious agents are classified as carcinogenic but the role of infectious agents on outcomes of epithelial ovarian cancer is largely unknown. Objective: To explore the association between infectious agents and ovarian cancer, we investigated the prevalence of viral DNA in primary ovarian cancer tumors and its association with clinical outcomes. Methods: Archived tumors from 98 patients diagnosed with high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer were collected between 1/1/1994 and 12/31/2010. After DNA extraction, Luminex technology was utilized to identify polymerase chain reaction-amplified viral DNA for 113 specific viruses. Demographic data and disease characteristics were summarized using descriptive statistics. We used logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards model to assess associations between tumor viral status and disease outcome and between tumor viral presence and overall survival (OS), respectively. Results: Forty-six cases (45.9%) contained at least one virus. Six highly prevalent viruses were associated with clinical outcomes and considered viruses of interest (VOI; Epstein-Barr virus 1, Merkel cell polyomavirus, human herpes virus 6b, and human papillomaviruses 4, 16, and 23). Factors independently associated with OS were presence of VOI (HR 4.11, P = 0.0001) and platinum sensitivity (HR 0.21, P<0.0001). Median OS was significantly decreased when tumors showed VOI versus not having these viruses (22 vs 44 months, P<0.0001). Women <70 year old with VOI in tumors had significantly lower median OS versus age-matched women without VOI (20 vs 57 months, P = 0.0006); however, among women ≥70 years old, there was no difference in OS by tumor virus status. Conclusions: The presence of a VOI was significantly associated with a lower OS. These findings may have implications for clinical management of ovarian cancer but require additional studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research work is focused on dendroecological potential of Pinus roxburghii (Sarg.) and Pinus wallichiana (A. B. Jacks.) in Jhika gali of murree. Age, growth rate, height, diameter at breast height (dbh), and phytosociological attributes of these two pine species were determined. Increment borers were used to obtain samples from study site. 50 samples from each species were obtained. In P. roxburghii the growth rate varied between 0.93 cm/year to 0.58 cm/year with Dbh 193 and 189.5 cm, respectively. Height was measured in between 30.17 and 18.6 m. In first stand of P. roxburghii maximum growth rate was 0.93 inches/year and minimum in growth rate in second stand was 0.58 cm/year with Dbh 193 and 189.5 cm, respectively. There was an inverse correlation between growth rate and dbh, but growth rate and height it was direct. In P. wallichiana growth rate varied between 1.3 cm/year with dbh 64 cm and 0.41 cm/year with dbh 105.1 cm. The relationship observed between height and growth rate was directly proportional in P. wallichiana, while it was inverse between dbh and growth rate. In Phytosociology, 92 species were collected belonging to 44 different families. IVI values of various species varied between minimum 0.99 and maximum 2.65. TWINSPAN is indicating the diverse nature of plant communities with diverse nature of grouping. Group I (G 1), Group II (G 3) has biodiversity in some of stands while Group II (G 2) has greatest biodiversity with five subgroups and subsequent associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accreditation bodies of medical education globally value competency in research that facilitates evidence-based practice of medicine. Physician-scientists need awareness of qualitative research methods for in-depth exploration of sociocultural, gender, behavioural, emotional, and religious factors affecting health that cannot be gauged by quantitative research methods. The introduction of qualitative research at the undergraduate level can enhance understanding of local populations' unique health needs and strengthen evidence-based practice. Methods: This was a mixed-method study conducted from July to October 2021. Four journals with dedicated student's corner/student journals were hand-searched for qualitative research articles published by students, over the past five years. Quantitative data was collected at four medical colleges of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for several qualitative research projects being conducted by students. Quantitative data was collected from the faculty of these colleges about the facilities of research departments. After analysing quantitative data, five semi-structured interviews via email were conducted about factors limiting qualitative research at medical colleges. Written responses were analysed for themes. Results: There was not a single qualitative research article published by students in local journals in five years. Out of 39 research projects by undergraduates at four medical colleges only one was qualitative. Two themes developed from qualitative data were underdeveloped research departments and a lack of attitude toward qualitative research. Conclusion: There is a felt need and gap to include qualitative research objectives at the undergraduate level, but before that emphasis needs to be placed on providing infrastructure, resources, and trained faculty to facilitate implementation. It will facilitate future doctors to find answers to problems impalpable by quantitative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]