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Background: Maternal nutrition is critically important for the well-being of both the mother and the developing fetus. Multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplements have the added advantage of addressing nutritional deficiencies. This study aimed to review the effects of MMN supplementation trials to prevent maternal and fetal complications from the preconception period to the post-natal phase by incorporating adequate micronutrients into the daily diet. Methodology: A comprehensive review of online literature was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Three databases--PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar--were searched for clinical trials from 2019 to 2023. MeSH terms such as "maternal," "micronutrient supplementation," "Pakistan," "trials," "clinical trials," and "micro-element supplementation" were used with Boolean operators "AND" and "OR." Titles and abstracts of the articles were screened initially, followed by full-text reviews in the second round. A total of seven articles meeting the inclusion criteria and diagnostic accuracy (STARD) were selected. Results: Risk of bias and quality assessment of clinical trials were evaluated using a 23-item questionnaire, with scores ranging from 0 to 2. Conclusion: Nutritional supplements were found to be most effective when taken daily for three months before conception and continued throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Endodontically treated teeth undergo loss of tooth structure, resulting in increased fracture susceptibility as compared to unrestored vital teeth. The final restoration following the root canal treatment is of paramount importance. This study aimed to determine current concepts, opinions, and techniques used to restore Endodontically Treated Teeth among dentists of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and compare their knowledge with their clinical practice to determine the gap between their understanding and application. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Rawal Institute of Health Sciences, Islamabad, from February to June 2022 after ethical approval. A convenience sampling technique was used. About 235 dentists, including house officers, general dentists, postgraduate trainees, and consultants of Endodontics of Islamabad/Rawalpindi, participated. Data was collected by a structured questionnaire widely accepted with Cronbach's alpha of 0.75 through electronic media. Its first part included demographics, while the second part included questions regarding understanding and practice of endodontically treated teeth restoration. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS 2, the chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test were applied. RESULTS: The mean age of study participants was 29.0±4.54 years. Out of 235 participants, 76(32.3%) were males and 159(67.75%) were females. The responses regarding technical management of endodontically treated teeth showed significant differences with p-value≤0.001 in the understanding and applications of general dental practitioners and endodontists. CONCLUSION: A significant difference was found among dentists regarding their understanding and practice of restoring endodontically treated teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Smartphones have become an essential part of our life, serving multiple functions like messages, calls and navigation. Smartphone users will increase up to 7.5 billion by 2026. Overuse of smartphones not only causes time wastage and health hazards but also have effects on physical activity and academics. Evaluation of these effects was the need of time, so this study was conducted to assess duration of smartphone usage in undergraduate medical students, and their association with physical activity and academic performance was determined. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional survey among 384 undergraduates was conducted from April to August 2019 in Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Islamabad. Convenient sampling technique was done. Structured questionnaire containing socio-demographic information along with a smartphone addiction scale was used. IPAQ long form was also used to determine physical activity among the participants. Academic performance was determined through marks percentage obtained in Annual Professional examination. Data was collected and analyzed by using SPSS 21. Frequencies and percentages were calculated and tests of significance were applied. RESULTS: It was observed that smartphone addiction was more pronounced in male participants 112(64.4%) than in females 109(51.9%). Thus, more male participants were found overweight (16.6%) than females (13.8%). Excessive smartphone usage was found to be significantly associated with physical activity (p-value 0.03). However, excessive smartphone usage had insignificant association with academic performance (p-value=0.250). CONCLUSION: A strong association between excess smartphone usage with reduced physical activity was found. However, smartphone usage had no association with the academic performance of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess symptomatology and spread of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children. Study Design: Literature review. Place and Duration of Study: Online literature search was carried out from Jan 2020 to May 2020 using online search engines available including Google Scholar, Science Direct and Pub Med with the help of key words. Methodology: This resulted in retrieval of 201 articles after removing duplicated ones. Following, which these articles were scrolled down, articles with incomplete information and covering comorbidities were not included. Case reports, case series, letters or editorials were also excluded. Articles related to clinical features and spread of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children were included. Six articles were finally selected for the review. Result: This review observed that although children are less affected by COVID-19 but they can play an important role in its spread especially to elderly population having comorbidities. Conclusion: Children might be asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to study violence faced by rural women due to gender discrimination, and to identify what challenges and risks rural women are facing to respond against this violence. What is the role of Government and NGO's in this whole situation that how much effectively they are helping these rural women against challenges and risks faced by them. In this study three villages of Malakand Division which comes under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were taken under consideration such as Batkhela, Amandara and Alladand Dehri. Total of 150 women were selected, ages between 25-45, 50 from each village, interviews were conducted and through KWIC (Keys words in context) method followed by word count analysis was used for results interpretation .The main challenges reported by these women were, lack of support system, lack of transport system, lack of opportunities, lack of education, early and forced marriages and no ownership in land/property. By interviewing all these women it was easily concluded that government institutions and NGO's (national/international) are putting very less focus on these areas because these are rural areas which can easily be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]