Emotional intelligence and burnout among medical officers of twin cities in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the level of burnout and emotional intelligence among junior and senior medical officers. METHODS: The cross-sectional observational study was conducted at the Department of Applied Psychology, Government College Women University, Faisalabad, Pakistan, from February to December 2017, and comprised medical officers of either gender aged 25-45 years with professional experience 1-10 years enrolled from different government and private hospitals of Faisalabad and Lahore. Data was collected using Schutte Emotional intelligence Test and Professional Quality of Life scale. Data wsa analysed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: Of the 160 subjects, 90(56.3%) were male and 70(43.8%) were female medical officers. The overall mean age was 29.39±4.65 years, Further, 95(59.4%) subjects had professional experience 1-2 years, while 65(40.6%) had 3-10 years. Junior medical officers experienced significantly higher level of burnout and emotional intelligence compared to the seniors (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Junior medical officers were found to have significantly higher level of burnout and emotional intelligence compared to the seniors.

Level of sleep disorders among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the level of sleep disorders among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and to see if there was any difference in terms of demographic variables and socioeconomic status. METHODS: The cross-sectional descriptive observational study was conducted from March to June 2017, and data was collected through purposive sampling from different tertiary health care centres of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Sleep-50-Urdu scale was used to measure sleep disorders among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 140 respondents 70(50%) each were males and females with an overall mean age of 48.64±17.39 years. The patients had significantly high level of narcolepsy (p<0.05), but those from high socioeconomic status had relatively lower level of narcolepsy (p<0.05). Male patients and people from lower socioeconomic status also suffered from sleep apnoea and insomnia along with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Narcolepsy along with sleep apnoea and insomnia were significantly more prevalent among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients from lower socioeconomic status.

A new approach to design 3(3-sulfamoylbenzamido) benzoic acid containing transition metal complexes: Characterization and Biological activities.

Zn, Cu, Co and Ni are biocompatible metals as they are active center of many enzymes in the human body. Incorporation of these biocompatible metals into 3-(o-Sulfamoylphenyl) carbamoylbenzoic acid (I) makes them able to prove an excellent antimicrobial agent. In the present study Ni (II), Co (II), Cu(II) and Zn (II) complexes (III-VI) were synthesized from ligand (I) derive from 3-(o-Sulfamoylphenyl) carbamoylbenzoic acid and zinc, nickel, cobalt acetate tetrahydrate/copper acetate monohydrate. Synthesized complexes (III-VI) were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR and 13CNMR. III-VI have 81-93% yield while melting points recorded were in the range of 209-239oC. Purity of ligands and their respective complexes was confirmed by TLC. Results of antibacterial properties suggested that III, IV, V and VI were highly active against gram +ve (S. epidermidis, B. subtilis. S. aureus, S. mutans) and gram -ve bacteria (E. coli and P. aruginosa). Comparison was also performed to check whether metal complexes or ligand with its derivative exhibit best result against all tested strains. The anthelmintic activity of the complexes III-VI against tape worm, liver fluke, thread worm, and hook worm using three different concentrations (15, 30, 45mg/mL), significantly (p<0.01) paralyzed the worms followed by death, which was comparable with that of the standard. Overall results indicated that S. epidermidis, S. mutans, E. coli and B. subtilis are very sensitive to complex III & IV and can be used for treatment of bacterial infections whereas Complex-V, could a potent target for anti-parasite therapy.

Self-esteem in severely burned adults.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the level of and gender difference in self-esteem among adult victims of severe burn injuries. Severely burned adults aged 20 to 40 years participated in this investigation from March 2015 to April 2016 in five hospitals of Faisalabad and Lahore. Purposive sampling technique was used and a self-esteem scale was used to assess different dimensions of self-esteem. Out of 40 patients, there were 25 men (62.5%) and 15 women (37.5%) with mean age of 28.28±4.60 years (range: 20-40 years). A significant positive relationship between subscales of self-esteem scale were found: self-acceptance and self-competence r=0.55, p<0.01; self-acceptance and academic self-competence r=0.47, p<0.01; self-acceptance and social and physical acceptance r=0.57, p<0.01; self-competence and academic self-competence r=0.48, p<0.01; self-competence and social and physical acceptance r=0.50, p<0.01; academic self-competence and social and physical acceptance r=0.45, p<0.01). Independent sample t-test indicated a significant difference between self-competence among severely burned men and women (t=2.18; p<0.05). A significant gender difference indicated higher affected levels specifically in the self-competency component of self-esteem among women victims.

Solar light driven degradation of piroxicam and paracetamol by heterogeneous photocatalytic fenton system: Process optimization, mechanistic studies and toxicity assessment.

The widespread occurence of pharmaceutical pollutants seriously threatens the environment and human well-being. In the present study, zinc ferrite nanoparticles (ZnFe2O4 NPs) have been synthesized by co-precipitation method and used as photocatalyst for the degradation of two most commonly prescribed painkillers, piroxicam (PXM) and paracetamol (PCM), via heterogeneous Fenton process under the solar light. The synthesized ZnFe2O4 NPs showed a narrower band gap i.e. 1.87 eV, signifying the ability to efficiently work in visible light range. In context of photocatalytic applications, the operational conditions were optimized to achieve maximum degradation. PCM and PXM were completely degraded (100%) at the optimized photocatalytic dose (20 mg L-1), reaction time (180 min), initial drug concentration (10 mg L-1), and pH (6.0), which is close to the natural environment. The extent of mineralization as estimated by the reduction of total organic carbon (TOC) was observed to be ∼91 and 82% for PCM and PXM respectively. Kinetic studies revealed that photocatalytic degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Moreover, the ZnFe2O4 NPs retained ∼90 % of photocatalytic activity after five consecutive reaction cycles, showing remarkable reusability and stability of catalyst.

A virtual insight into mushroom secondary metabolites: 3D-QSAR, docking, pharmacophore-based analysis and molecular modeling to analyze their anti-breast cancer potential.

Breast cancer is a major issue of investigation in drug discovery due to its rising frequency and global dominance. Plants are significant natural sources for the development of novel medications and therapies. Medicinal mushrooms have many biological response modifiers and are used for the treatment of many physical illnesses. In this research, a database of 89 macro-molecules with anti-breast cancer activity, which were previously isolated from the mushrooms in literature, has been selected for the three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSAR) studies. The 3D-QSAR model was necessarily used in Pharmacopoeia virtual evaluation of the database to develop novel MCF-7 inhibitors. With the known potential targets of breast cancer, the docking studies were achieved. Using molecular dynamics simulations, the targets' stability with the best-chosen natural product molecule was found. Furthermore, the absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity of three compounds, resulting after the docking study, were predicted. The compound C1 (Pseudonocardian A) showed the features of effective compounds because it has bioavailability from different coral species and is toxicity-free for the prevention of many dermatological illnesses. C1 is chemically active and possesses charge transfer inside the monomer, as seen by the band gaps of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) electrons. The reactivity descriptors ionization potential, electron affinity, chemical potential (µ), hardness (η), softness (S), electronegativity (χ), and electrophilicity index (ω) have been estimated using the energies of frontier molecular orbitals (HOMO-LUMO). Additionally, molecular electrostatic potential maps were created to show that the C1 is reactive.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

The selected compounds from the mushroom were evaluated as potential breast cancer MCF-7 cell line inhibitor.Ligand-based 3D-QSAR study to analyze the structurally diverse compounds with experimentally reported IC₅₀.Pharmacophore-based virtual screening of compounds.Molecular docking analysis pointed out the vital interaction of the hit with the protein's amino acids.Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) and toxicity properties of the lead compounds were examined.

Oleogels for the Promotion of Healthy Skin Care Products: Synthesis and Characterization of Allantoin Containing Moringa-based Oleogel.

BACKGROUND: Oleogelation is an efficient and emerging approach for obtaining biocompatible and biodegradable elastic semisolid crystals to be used in various cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations. Recently, drug incorporation in oil structuring has been a promising strategy under consideration due to the effectiveness of this method. Plant oils have very beneficial characteristics for skin care and wound healing due to the presence of certain antioxidants. METHODS: In this study, the oleogels of Moringa oleifera seed oil with natural polysaccharides, including pectin, chitosan, and xanthan gum, were prepared using the emulsion template method. Moringa oil was selected because it can hydrate and moisturize the skin and has great antioxidant activity. Also, the natural polysaccharides, i.e., pectin and chitosan, exhibited good gelling properties. Allantoin, which is a wound healer and eucalyptus leaf oil with antioxidant potential, was incorporated into the emulsion-based-oleogels to enhance the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the oleogels. RESULTS: Allantoin and eucalyptus-loaded oleogels exhibited good antibacterial activity against E. coli. The FTIR spectra of moringa-based oleogels in the range between 3226-3422 cm-1 indicate the presence of hydrogen bonding in oleogels. CONCLUSION: The antioxidant potential of allantoin and eucalyptus-containing oleogel was maximized, and an IC50 value of 0.9719 µM was found. Maximum release of allantoin from oleogel was observed in the first hour.

Sadness along with happiness: depression and satisfaction with life among postpartum women in Faisalabad.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between demographic variables, Postpartum Depression (PPD) and Satisfaction With Life (SWL) in postpartum women of Faisalabad district. This is the first time that a study on postpartum women has been conducted in Faisalabad. In this cross-sectional study sample of 120 postpartum women (age range 20-40) has been collected from Saint Raphael Hospital Faisalabad by using convenience sample technique. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Satisfaction with life Scale were used to measure PPD and SWL among postpartum women. A demographic form used to obtain demographic characteristics of the sample. Results show significant negative relationship between PPD and SWL among postpartum women of Faisalabad at r=0.659 and 0.868, respectively. Results also show significant positive relationship of age and language with postpartum depression at r=0.236 and 0.316, respectively, and significant negative relationship of economic status, residence, hospital, and checkup pattern with postpartum depression with r= -0.365, -0.284, -0.192, & -0.206. Moreover, there is a non-significant relationship between SWL and any demographic variable. Results indicated that PPD and SWL are inversely linked in postpartum women at Faisalabad. And demographic variables are also linked with postpartum depression. Implications are also discussed in the conclusions.

Pectins functionalized biomaterials; a new viable approach for biomedical applications: A review.

Pectins are natural complex heteropolysaccharides, composed of (1, 4)-linked α-d-galacturonic acid residues and variety of neutral sugars such as rhamnose, galactose and arabinose. It is second most abundant component of the cell wall of all land plants. It has wide applications in various fields due to its use as gelling, emulsifying or stabilizing agent and as well as its non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable nature. Considering these versatile properties this review sheds a light on the synthesis, modification, characterization and applications of pectin based polymers. Most of them are used in industries, pharmaceutics, nutraceutics, drug delivery, tissue engineering, food packaging and cosmetics. Properties of pectin can be improved and modified by forming derivatives, blends and composites.