This research study examines the attitudes of Pakistani higher education students towards compulsory digital and distance learning university courses amid Coronavirus (COVID-19). Undergraduate and postgraduate were surveyed to find their perspectives about online education in Pakistan. The findings of the study highlighted that online learning cannot produce desired results in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan, where a vast majority of students are unable to access the internet due to technical as well as monetary issues. The lack of face-to-face interaction with the instructor, response time and absence of traditional classroom socialization were among some other issues highlighted by higher education students.

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Online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Students perspectives

Reducibility is an essential characteristic of oxide catalysts in oxidation reactions following the Mars–van Krevelen mechanism. A typical descriptor of the reducibility of an oxide is the cost of formation of an oxygen vacancy, which measures the tendency of the oxide to lose oxygen or to donate it to an adsorbed species with consequent change in the surface composition, from MnOm to MnOm–x. The oxide reducibility, however, can be modified in various ways: for instance, by doping and/or nanostructuring. In this review we consider an additional aspect, related to the formation of a metal/oxide interface. This can be realized when small metal nanoparticles are deposited on the surface of an oxide support or when a nanostructured oxide, either a nanoparticle or a thin film, is grown on a metal. In the past decade, both theory and experiment indicate a particularly high reactivity of the oxygen atoms at the boundary region between a metal and an oxide. Oxygen atoms can be removed from interface sites at much...

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acscatal.7b01913

Increasing Oxide Reducibility: The Role of Metal/Oxide Interfaces in the Formation of Oxygen Vacancies

Fangcang shelter hospitals are a novel public health concept. They were implemented for the first time in China in February, 2020, to tackle the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The Fangcang shelter hospitals in China were large-scale, temporary hospitals, rapidly built by converting existing public venues, such as stadiums and exhibition centres, into health-care facilities. They served to isolate patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 from their families and communities, while providing medical care, disease monitoring, food, shelter, and social activities. We document the development of Fangcang shelter hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak in China and explain their three key characteristics (rapid construction, massive scale, and low cost) and five essential functions (isolation, triage, basic medical care, frequent monitoring and rapid referral, and essential living and social engagement). Fangcang shelter hospitals could be powerful components of national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as future epidemics and public health emergencies.

Fangcang shelter hospitals: a novel concept for responding to public health emergencies

In Bangladesh, an array of measures have been adopted to control the rapid spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. Such general population control measures could significantly influence perception, knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19. Here, we assessed KAP towards COVID-19 immediately after the lock-down measures were implemented and during the rapid rise period of the outbreak. Online-based cross-sectional study conducted from March 29 to April 19, 2020, involving Bangladeshi residents aged 12-64 years, recruited via social media. After consenting, participants completed an online survey assessing socio-demographic variables, perception, and KAP towards COVID-19. Of the 2017 survey participants, 59.8% were male, the majority were students (71.2%), aged 21-30 years (57.9%), having a bachelor's degree (61.0%), having family income >30,000 BDT (50.0%), and living in urban areas (69.8). The survey revealed that 48.3% of participants had more accurate knowledge, 62.3% had more positive attitudes, and 55.1% had more frequent practices regarding COVID-19 prevention. Majority (96.7%) of the participants agreed 'COVID-19 is a dangerous disease', almost all (98.7%) participants wore a face mask in crowded places, 98.8% agreed to report a suspected case to health authorities, and 93.8% implemented washing hands with soap and water. In multiple logistic regression analyses, COVID-19 more accurate knowledge was associated with age and residence. Sociodemographic factors such as being older, higher education, employment, monthly family income >30,000 BDT, and having more frequent prevention practices were the more positive attitude factors. More frequent prevention practice factors were associated with female sex, older age, higher education, family income > 30,000 BDT, urban area residence, and having more positive attitudes. To improve KAP of general populations is crucial during the rapid rise period of a pandemic outbreak such as COVID-19. Therefore, development of effective health education programs that incorporate considerations of KAP-modifying factors is needed.

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Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh: An online-based cross-sectional study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a major public health challenge globally with countries of the world adopting unprecedented infection prevention and control (IPC) measures to urgently curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of the people toward COVID-19 is critical to understanding the epidemiological dynamics of the disease and the effectiveness, compliance and success of IPC measures adopted in a country. This study sought to determine the levels of KAP toward COVID-19 among residents of north-central Nigeria. A cross-sectional online survey with a semi-structured questionnaire using a Snowball sampling technique was conducted during the national lockdown. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s correlation and regression tests. From a total of 589 responses received, 80.6, 59.6, 90.4 and 56.2% were from respondents between ages 18–39 years, males, had a college (Bachelor) degree or above and reside in urban areas respectively. Respondents had good knowledge (99.5%) of COVID-19, gained mainly through the internet/social media (55.7%) and Television (27.5%). The majority of the respondents (79.5%) had positive attitudes toward the adherence of government IPC measures with 92.7, 96.4 and 82.3% practicing social distancing/self-isolation, improved personal hygiene and using face mask respectively. However, 52.1% of the respondents perceived that the government is not doing enough to curtail COVID-19 in Nigeria. Pearson’s correlation showed significant relationship between knowledge of COVID-19 and attitude towards preventive measures (r = 0.177, p = 0.004, r = 0.137, p = 0.001). Although 61.8% of the respondents have no confidence in the present intervention by Chinese doctors, only 29.0% would accept COVID-19 vaccines when available. This study recorded good knowledge and attitudes among participants, however, community-based health campaigns are necessary to hold optimistic attitudes and practice appropriate intervention measures devoid of misconceptions.

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Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Towards COVID-19: An Epidemiological Survey in North-Central Nigeria.

Improvement in Sensing Accuracy of an OFDM-Based W-Band System

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Use of telemedicine in healthcare during COVID-19 in Pakistan: Lessons, legislation challenges and future perspective

Age-associated pharmacological and physiological changes increase the susceptibly of elderly populations to the occurrence of adverse events attributed to the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of PIMs and associated risk factors among elderly cardiac outpatients. A descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient department of a tertiary-care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan from June to September 2018. Eligible patients were those aged ≥ 65 years with one or more cardiovascular condition taking one or more prescribed drugs. Patients were interviewed to collect patient-related information using a structured questionnaire. Beers criteria 2015 and the Barthel index were used to assess PIMs and performance in activities of daily living (ADL), respectively. Of the 386 elderly cardiac patients who were interviewed, 260 (67.4%) were exposed to at least one PIM based on Beers criteria 2015. The most commonly prescribed PIMs were hydrochlorothiazide (21.5%), furosemide (17.1%), omeprazole (13.7%), and orphenadrine (6.7%). Based on logistic regression analysis, the strongest predictors of PIM use were excessive polypharmacy (i.e. use of ≥ 10 medications) (odds ratio [OR] 18.83; p = 0.005), comorbidity (OR 1.80; p = 0.046), and dependence in performing ADL (OR 2.52; p = 0.012). The use of PIMs is common in elderly cardiac patients and significantly associated with dependence in performing ADL. Strict compliance to guideline recommendations is necessary to improve the quality of medication use.

Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications use and associated risk factors among elderly cardiac patients using the 2015 American Geriatrics Society beers criteria

The Rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) belongs to family corvidae, order Passeriformes which includes about 100 species. The current study was conducted to gather information about the Population distribution and habitat analysis of D. vagabunda at District Abbottabad, Pakistan. The data were collected on monthly basis both morning and evening times (2018-2019). “The ‘’Point count Method” was used for population estimation and ‘’Quadrates Method” for habitat analysis of study area. The result shows an average month-wise population density of D. vagabunda was maximum at Jhangra 0.14±0.039/ha, whereas minimum at Havelian 0.11±0.022/ha. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) among monthly population densities of D. vagabunda, however, a significant difference (p<0.05) was found between morning and evening times population of the specie. The present study revealed that importance value index (IVI) of plants species at Sherwan, Bakot, Havelian, Langra and Jhangra were 59.6±12.6, 50.1±6.9, 53.4±6.3, 66.8±10 and 60.1±7.7. Likewise, the frequency of shrubs at Sherwan, Bakot, Havelian, Langra and Jhangra were 33.3±4.2, 45±9.4, 46.7±8.2, 55.6±22.2 and 37.5±8.5. Similarly, the frequency of herbs at Sherwan, Bakot, Havelian, Langra and Jhangra were 40.4±6.0, 37.5±5.6, 53.3±7.4, 48.5±5.2 and 46.9±7.4 respectively. Our results show the study area as suitable habitat for D. vagabunda.

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Population distribution and habitat analysis of Rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

To deal with vagueness, falsity, attributive values and inconsistency, we introduce the cubic intuitionistic fuzzy soft set (CIFS-set) which is the extension of the cubic intuitionistic fuzzy set and propose distance measure, Hamming distance, Euclidean distance and separation measures of CIFS-set. Moreover, we present aggregate operator (P-union, R-intersection) of CIFS-sets. The proposed CIFS-set is more reliable, efficient and accurate. In future MCDM and MCGDM techniques can be propoed to deal with real life issues, and also this CIFS-set can be extended for its hybrids.

Muhammad Saqlain

Papers

Improvement in Sensing Accuracy of an OFDM-Based W-Band System

Use of telemedicine in healthcare during COVID-19 in Pakistan: Lessons, legislation challenges and future perspective

Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications use and associated risk factors among elderly cardiac patients using the 2015 American Geriatrics Society beers criteria

Population distribution and habitat analysis of Rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Cubic Intuitionistic Fuzzy Soft Set and it's Distance Measures