Social Media and Self-Concept Among Postsecondary Students: A Scoping Review.

The vast majority of college-aged students use social networking sites (SNS) to foster connectedness and enable networking. In addition, SNS allow individuals to control their online self-presentation. This may lead to incongruence between students' actual selves and their curated online selves, thereby damaging one's self-perception by increasing social comparison orientation. The goal of this article was to investigate the relationship between SNS use and self-concept that has not yet been explored in depth among the postsecondary population. Utilizing Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework, a scoping review of the published literature was conducted. A total of 41 articles were included in the review. Three overarching themes were extracted from the findings. The first theme found that consistent exposure to the thin ideal and fitspiration posts across various SNS were linked to increased body dissatisfaction. The second theme found that engaging in online academic or ability-based comparisons resulted in a worsened mental state among postsecondary students. The third theme found that one's SNS followers or the number of "likes" received have mixed effects on student self-concept. Through gaining an improved understanding of the SNS stressors that contribute to students' mental health from this review, postsecondary institutions can implement more targeted interventions to bolster student wellbeing.

Comparison Of Operative Complications Of Direct Trocar Access Versus Veress Needle Insertion Technique For Initial Peritoneal Entry In Patients Undergoing Gynecological Laparoscopic Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopy is considered to be a good diagnostic and surgical way to replace open surgeries in all surgical fields. As it is a least invasive method, with advantages for patients and all associated with medical care. There is a significant increase in the use of laparoscopic surgery in gynecology. This study was done to compare the frequency of operative complications of direct trocar access versus Veress needle insertion technique for initial peritoneal entry in patients undergoing gynecological laparoscopic surgery. METHODS: This Randomized Controlled Trial was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Lahore General Hospital, Lahore from 26-12-2019 to 25-6-2020. Four hundred consecutive patients were enrolled and divided randomly into two groups by blocked randomization. Direct trocar insertion (DTI) technique was used for initial peritoneal access in group A and Veress needle (VNI) was inserted first for peritoneal access in group B. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients in DTI group was 35.76±8.38 years whereas that in VNI group was 35.85±8.38 years. In DTI group there were 8(4%) patients with extra-peritoneal insufflation and in VNI group there were 19(9.5%) patients with extra-peritoneal insufflation. There were 8(4%) patients in DTI group with Omental injury and VNI group there were 13(6.5%) patients with Omental injury. In DTI group there were 7(3.5%) patients with port-site infection compared to 15(7.5%) in VNI group. CONCLUSIONS: According to findings the rate of complications observed with VNI, DTI can be a preferred procedure for gynecological surgeries.

Development of a LAMP assay using a portable device for the real-time detection of cotton leaf curl disease in field conditions.

Cotton production is seriously affected by the prevalent cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) that originated from Nigeria (Africa) to various parts of Asia including Pakistan, India, China and Philippines. Due to CLCuD, Pakistan suffers heavy losses approximately 2 billion USD per annum. Numerous reports showed that CLCuD is associated with multiple species of begomoviruses, alphasatellites and a single species of betasatellite, that is 'Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite' (CLCuMuB). The most prevalent form of CLCuD is the combination of 'Cotton leaf curl Kokhran virus'-Burewala strain (CLCuKoV-Bur) and CLCuMuB. Thus, the availability of an in-field assay for the timely detection of CLCuD is important for the control and management of the disease. In this study, a robust method using the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for the detection of CLCuD. Multiple sets of six primers were designed based on the conserved regions of CLCuKoV-Bur and CLCuMuB-ßC1 genes. The results showed that the primer set targeting the CLCuMuB-ßC1 gene performed best when the LAMP assay was performed at 58°C using 100 ng of total plant tissue DNA as a template in a 25 µl reaction volume. The limit of detection for the assay was as low as 22 copies of total purified DNA template per reaction. This assay was further adapted to perform as a colorimetric and real-time LAMP assay which proved to be advantageously applied for the rapid and early point-of-care detection of CLCuD in the field. Application of the assay could help to prevent the huge economic losses caused by the disease and contribute to the socio-economic development of underdeveloped countries.