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This paper aims to provide empirical evidence of the role of Social Entrepreneurship (SE) in bridging the Gender Gap. The unprecedented rise in the social and economic issues in developing countries, like Pakistan, has fostered efforts to achieve a new organizational model under SE to counter the said issues. SE is a new way of offering an innovative and creative solution to the problems of societies. In this paper, the authors have examined the role of SE in overcoming the GG in society, which is otherwise left unaddressed. A qualitative study is conducted by adopting the hermeneutic view of reality. The data is collected by conducting a semi-structured interview with social entrepreneurs working in Pakistan. For validating the findings, the secondary source of data is collected from the published reports by the British Council consulting on the role of SE in Pakistan. Findings revealed that SE is contributing to reducing the GG in Pakistan through increased women empowerment and employment. It is helping to create more opportunities for women in the field and overcoming the social issues of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In drug development, it is very important to study the physicochemical properties of drugs under various solution conditions in order to understand their mechanism of action and their interactions with bioactive compounds. In this regard, this study attempts to elucidate the effects of co-solvent and co-solute on the physicochemical properties of Montelukast sodium and its possible interactions with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The physicochemical, volumetric and thermodynamic properties of Montelukast sodium were determined by various measurements such as density, viscosity and surface tension. Most of these measured parameters responded differently when ethanol (co-solvent) and sodium chloride (co-solvent) were added to the drug solution, and/or when the concentration and temperature of the drug solution were changed. Various solution properties such as flow behavior, surface activity and association behavior of Montelukast sodium were also affected by the addition of DNA. UV–Vis spectroscopy was also used to better understand the qualitative and quantitative strength of DNA-drug interactions in water. Using UV–Visible analysis, the Montelukast DNA binding constant (Kb) was determined to be 6.861 × 103 (L Mol−1). Physicochemical and spectroscopic results confirmed that there may be physicochemical type interactions between the drug and DNA. It is also proposed that hydrogen bonding can occur between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms of the Montelukast sodium and the hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms of the DNA molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-governance is relatively a new form of Governance. In today's modern times only those countries are ruling the world who have a transparent, accountable, and fair administrative system. The transparency and accountability are the most vital and important aspect for any country across the world. The system governance always remain the main theme of interest for the political scientist. They are always in the search of finding out the best possible system of administration. The concept of E-Governance made it extreme easy for the modern states to ensure the system of accountability. Only those countries have reached to the high ranks of development who have high rank in the E-Governance. This paper will find out that what those countries who have gain extreme amount of development in their GDP and what steps they have taken for the development of E-Governance. We will also find out that why the third countries are behind in the GDP and what is their status of E-Governance in the modern times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the efficacy of prophylactic administration of 0.1% nepafenac in the maintenance of trans-operative mydriasis following cataract surgery. Study Design: Comparative prospective study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Rawalpindi, from Oct 2018 to Mar 2019. Methodology: A total of 70 patients ndergoing cataract surgery phacoemulsification were randomly placed in either the control group or the nepafenac group. Nepafenac eye drops were administered as one drop 8 hourly, 3 days before surgery. Control group didn't receive any medication preoperatively Mydriasis was measured trans-operatively before surgery, after aspiration of the cortex, and then at the end of surgery. Patients of both groups received tobradex 2 weeks post-surgery. Results: Post-surgery statistically significant (0.001) difference was observed in the mean pupil size between the nepafenac group (7.88 ± 0.49) and the control group (6.57 ± 0.92 mm). Conclusion: Use of nepafenac prophylactically was very effective in maintenance of trans-operative mydriasis in cataract surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of CT scan in staging of colorectal carcinoma among biopsy proven patients of colorectal carcinoma by taking histopathological finding as gold standard. Study Design: Cross-sectional validation study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi, Six months, from Jul 2015 to Dec 2015. Material and Methods: A total of 176 cases of 15-70 years of age, diagnosed of colorectal carcinoma oncolonoscopic biopsy, were included in the study. Patients with previous malignancies other than colorectal carcinoma, allergy to the contrast agent and pregnant patients were excluded from the study. All the patients then underwent CT scan for detection of the stage of cancer. After surgery, histopathology of the resected specimen was compared with the findings on CT scan. Results: Mean age was 50.27 ± 14.50 years. Out of these 176 patients, 113 (64.20%) were male and 63 (35.80%) were females with ratio of 1.8:1. Among CT positive, 80 were true positive while 11 were false positive. Among, CT negative patients, 12 were false negative while 73 were true negative. Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of CT in staging colorectal carcinoma taking histopathology as gold standard was 87.91%, 85.88%, 86.96%, 86.90% and 86.93% respectively. Conclusion: This study concluded that CT scan is a highly sensitive and accurate modality for pre-operative detection of stage of colorectal carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of thyroid dysfunction in patients with Diabetic Retinopathy and see the correlation with stage of diabetic retinopathy. It was a cross sectional descriptive study in the Department of Ophthalmology, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi. Methods: This study was conducted in Department of Ophthalmology, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, from 1st September 2016 to 30th March 2017. All the cases of Diabetic Retinopathy were included except those who lost follow up. A detailed history with complete ocular was carried out All the patients were investigated for Glycosylated Hemoglobin (HbA1c), total tri-iodo--thyronine (T3), total thyroxine (T4), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Results: A total number of 82 patients with non-proliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy were studied. There were 27 patients of proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) (32.9%) and 55 patients of non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR) (67%). 25 patients out of total 82 patients had deranged thyroid hormone and TSH levels (30.48%). Among these 25 cases, 13 cases had hypothyroidism, 6 cases had hyperthyroidism and 6 had low T3 syndrome (15.8 %, 7.3 % and 7.3 % respectively). Out of total 27 cases of PDR; 8 cases had hypothyroidism, 6 has hyperthyroidism and 2 had low T3 syndrome ( 29.6%, 22.2 % and 7.4% respectively). While in NPDR group, out of total 55 patients 5 had hypothyroidism (9.09%), 4 patients had low T3 syndrome (7.27%) and none of the patients had hyperthyroidism. Conclusion: Thyroid dysfunction is found in significant number of patients with diabetic retinopathy. Thyroid function tests are more deranged in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy than non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Thyroid dysfunction may be another risk factor for progression of diabetic retinopathy, hence the thyroid screening in type 2 diabetic patients can favor better management of patients and prevent sight threatening complications of diabetic retinopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the corneal endothelial cell density in patients of Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXS) with normal healthy controls. Study Design: Cross sectional comparative. Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out at Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Rawalpindi from Mar 2016 to Jan 2017. Patients and Methods: Patients of PXS and healthy subjects of both genders between ages of 40 and 50 years, with best corrected visual acuity of 6/6 on snellen visual acuity chart were included in the study. All the participants including controls and PXS patients were subjected to ophthalmic clinical examination including corrected distance visual acuity, slit lamp examination by the single trainee researcher to exclude bias. Participants in both groups were evaluated for corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) by using non-contact, TOPCON SP 3000P Specular microscope. Sampling bias was eliminated by analyzing 100 cells in the center of each specular microscope photograph and mean of three readings was analyzed. Results: Both the groups were similar with respect to gender and age. In our study sample there were 29 (58%) males in PXS group and 24 (48%) males in control group with no statistical significant (p-value > 0.05) difference between gender distributions of both groups. The mean age of the PXS group was 46.34 ± 2.932 years, and in control group was 45.54 ± 2.887 years (p-value >0.05). The mean value of ECD was found to be 2021.548 ± 528.142 cells/mm2 in PXS patients and the mean value of ECD in healthy subjects was noted to be 2772.692 ± 383.395 cells/mm2, showing significantly lower ECD in PXS cases. Similarly, significantly higher number of cases 22 (44%) had CED <2000 in PXS as compared to normal healthy subjects. Conclusion: Corneal endothelial cell density decreases in patients of pseudoexfoliation syndrome and this must be considered while planning any intraocular surgery including cataract extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effect of Intravitreal injection of Bevacizumab on IOP in eyes of different axial lengths. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at AFIO Rawalpindi, from Sep 2013 to Jan 2014. Material and Methods: In this study 55 patients scheduled for intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for the treatment of diabetic macular edema were enrolled. An informed written consent was taken from all the patients. All patients underwent clinical ophthalmic examination including uncorrected distance visual acuity, corrected distance visual acuity, slit lamp bio-microscopy and fundus examination with 90 diopter lens. Axial length was measured before IVB using IOL master. Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP) was measured before and after 1 minute of administration of Intravitreal Bevacizumab (IVB) using Tono-Pen. Result: The mean age of patients was 54.51 ± 7.53 years with minimum age of 43 years and maximum age of 70 years. There were 26 (47.3%) male and 29 (52.7%) female patients. The mean axial length of the examined eyes was 21.12 ± 1.80 with range of 6 mm. Mean IOP before IVB was 13.09 ± 1.62 mmHg. After 1 minute of IVB, mean IOP was 32.8 ± 6.19 mmHg. A good correlation was observed between the axial length and intraocular pressure rise after 1 min i.e. Pearson correlation (r.) = -0.914 (p-value <0.001) with R2 = 0.835. Conclusion: There is significant rise in IOP after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in patients with short axial length as compared to long axial length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]