This study assessed effect of climate change on secondary school Islamic Studies curriculum implementation in Kwara State. This study adopted descriptive survey design. The population for this study was all secondary school teachers in Kwara State. Muti-stage sampling technique was adopted in the study. Out of 90 respondents proposed to use in the study only 78 (70.2%) were available. An adapted questionnaire from Sergio et al. (2024) titled: Effects of Climate Change on Secondary School Islamic Studies Curriculum Implementation (ECCSSISCI) was used in this study. Descriptive statistical tools used in the study were percentage, mean and standard deviation while inferential statistical tool adopted was t-test. The findings of this study revealed that revealed that population of male teachers taking Islamic Studies at secondary schools in Kwara State is higher than females. Similarly, the study showed that the effect of climate change on secondary school Islamic Studies curriculum implementation in Kwara State is moderate with average mean score of 2.64. Furthermore, the study indicated that there is significant difference in the effect of climate change on secondary school Islamic Studies curriculum implementation in Kwara State based on gender and school location. The study therefore, concluded that climate change generates certain circumstances that affect proper implementation of secondary school Islamic Studies curriculum in Kwara State, Nigeria. The study recommended that Teaching Service Commission in the state should train Islamic Studies teachers on how to manage every circumstance including climate change.
The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has a guideline on screening for depression among adults 18 years of age or older at average or high risk for depression. To provide evidence for an update of this guideline, we evaluated the literature on the effectiveness of screening for depression in adults.For the period 1994 to May 23, 2012, we searched the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Randomized controlled trials, observational studies and systematic reviews with evidence for the benefits or harms of screening for depression were eligible for inclusion. We performed screening for relevance, extraction of data, analysis of risk of bias and quality assessments in duplicate. We used the generic inverse variance method to conduct a meta-analysis. To determine confidence in the effect, we analyzed the results according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system.Five quasi-experimental studies (before-after design with a nonrandomized control group) met the inclusion criteria for this review. These studies reported on the effect of community-based screening for depression, with follow-up on the risk of suicide completion, for older residents in regions of rural Japan with high suicide rates. Meta-analysis showed that the screening program had a protective effect on the overall incidence of suicide completion (ratio of rate ratios [RRR] 0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32-0.78). When sex was considered, the RRR indicated a significantly lower rate of suicide among women (RRR 0.37, 95% CI 0.21-0.66) but not among men (RRR 0.67, 95% CI 0.35-1.27). The overall GRADE rating applied to this evidence indicated very low quality. No studies addressing the harms of screening for depression met the inclusion criteria for the review.There is very limited research evidence allowing conclusions about the effectiveness of screening for depression in either average-risk or high-risk populations.
Background: During storage of blood, the red blood cells undergo shape changes which cause fragility and endothelial interaction leading to deterioration the quality of blood in blood banks. Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the morphological changes in red blood cells during storage in blood banks. Material and Methods: In this experimental study, a total 20 healthy volunteers between 17 to 40 years blood donors-Blood bags were taken, ten from each center i.e. MMCTH blood bank Mardan and KTH blood bank Peshawar. The specimen analysis was done at IBMS (Institute of Basic Medical Sciences) of KMU (Khyber Medical University) Peshawar. The exclusion criteria were People with anemia, hepatitis B C such as +1(scored 1 to 5 altered RBC present in each field), +2 (an average of 6 to 15 altered RBC in each field), +3(16 to 25 altered RBC in each field) and +4(more than 25 altered RBC present in each field). The multi head light microscope NIKON eclipse 50 was used for examination of peripheral blood slide and we took images of randomly selected field. The image J software was used for slide examination. Results: The morphological analysis of red blood cells, count of 200 cells in each blood slide in randomly selected fields are: On day 0 the majority of cells were normally shaped (97.95±1.297 (mean±SD).With increasing storage time, the percentage of morphologically abnormal red cells rose sharply. Mean percentage of abnormal cells on day 5, 10, 15 and 20 was 28.80±10.00, 51.73±12.47, 64.78±14.66 and 68.10±7.92 respectively. This increase in percentage of abnormally shaped cells was significant as determined by one way ANOVA (p =0.001). There was a big difference of percentage of abnormal RBCs on day 0 and in = 5 to= 10 days and in = 15 to = 20 days of blood storage. The mean values of day 0 of abnormal cells was 2.05±1.297 (Mean ± Std. Deviation), abnormal cells in= 5 to= 10 days was 40.26± 16.101 (Mean ± Std. Deviation) and on day = 15 and in = 20 day was 66.44± 11.75. The mean difference from day 0 to day 20 was 63.93±10.45 (Mean ± Std. Deviation).The one way ANOVA was significant, P= 0.001. Conclusion: This study confirms the hematological and morphological changes, when blood stored at 2 °C to 6 °C for up to 21 days. The significant morphological changes were observed on 5th day of blood storage. These findings suggested that approximately a week old stored blood is as good as the fresh blood; however, significant morphological and biochemical changes begin to appear after the first week of storage and these changes aggravate with time. Hence in order to achieve best possible transfusion outcomes, stored blood up to one week can be utilized.
Background The Immature Platelet Fraction (IPF) is an indicator of thrombopoiesis which is a useful parameter in thrombocytopenia. It demonstrates compensatory mechanisms in production of platelets, but currently not implemented in routine clinical practice. The aim of this study was to establish the reproducibility and stability of IPF, for both percentage (%-IPF) and absolute (A-IPF) measurements.Material/methods: A total of 71 samples, of which 45 for reproducibility and 26 for stability analysis, were assayed for full blood count using the Sysmex XN-10 analyser at room temperature (RT:19–25 °C). For reproducibility analysis, IPF measurements were analysed 11 times by different appraisers using the same sample, while for stability analysis, IPF was measured over fourteen hourly-intervals up to 24 h (n = 21) and then separately extended beyond the point of stability to 72 h (n = 5).
Objective: To ascertain the diagnostic accuracy of serum PCT as an early biomarker of neonatal sepsis using blood culture as gold standard, so that the condition could be diagnosed and managed early to prevent and reduce morbidity and mortality in neonates.Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Amongst the pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phase of laboratory testing, pre-analytical phase is the most error-prone. Knowledge gaps in understanding of pre-analytical factors are identified in the clinical years amongst undergraduate students due to lack of formal teaching modules on the pre-analytical phase. This study was conducted to seek experts' consensus in Clinical Chemistry on learning objectives and contents using the Delphi technique with an aim to develop an asynchronous virtual classroom for teaching pre-analytical factors of laboratory testing.A mixed method study was conducted at the Aga Khan University. A questionnaire comprising of 16 learning objectives and their associated triggers was developed on Google Docs for developing the case vignettes. A four-point Likert Scale, which included strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree, was utilized for the learning objectives. An open-ended question was included for experts to suggest new items for inclusion. A cut off of at least 75% agreement was set to establish consensus on each item. A total of 17 Chemical Pathology faculty from 13 institutions across Pakistan were invited to participate in the first round of Delphi. Similar method of response was used in round two to establish consensus on the newly identified items suggested by the faculty in round 1. Later, the agreed-upon objectives and triggers were used to develop interactive scenarios over Moodle to concurrently test and teach medical students in a nonchalant manner.A total of 17 responses were received in Round 1 of the Delphi process (response rate = 100%), while 12 responses were received in Round 2 (response rate = 71%). In round 1, all 16 learning objectives reached the required consensus (≥ 75%) with no additional learning objectives suggested by the experts. Out of 75 triggers in round 1, 61 (81.3%) reached the consensus to be included while 39 were additionally suggested. In 2nd round, 17 out of 39 newly suggested triggers met the desired consensus. 14 triggers did not reach the consensus after two rounds, and were therefore eliminated. The virtual classroom developed using the agreed-upon learning objectives and triggers consisted of 20 items with a total score of 31 marks. The questions included multiple choice questions, fill in the blanks, drag and drop sequences and read-and-answer comprehensions. Specific learning points were included after each item and graphs and pictures were included for a vibrant experience.We developed an effective and interactive virtual session with expert consensus on the pre-analytical phase of laboratory testing for undergraduate medical students which can be used for medical technologist, graduate students and fellows in Chemical Pathology.
Immature platelet fraction (IPF) estimation is a non-invasive and sensitive test that is available on recently introduced Sysmex XN-series of automated haematology analysers. It is a direct cellular indicator of thrombopoiesis. The aim of this study was to establish reference intervals for IPF, for both absolute (A-IPF) and percentage (%-IPF) measurements.A total of 2366 samples that met the inclusion criteria were assayed for full blood count on the Sysmex XN-10 and a non-parametric percentile method was used for calculating the reference intervals.After the outliers were excluded, the reference interval for %-IPF and A-IPF on Sysmex XN-10 were 1.6-10.1% and 4.37-23.21 × 109/L in total individuals, respectively. There was a statistical significance noted between the sexes (p = .004) for %-IPF, therefore a sex-specific reference interval was established, which was 1.8-10.0% for the males and 1.5-10.1% for females. No significant difference in sex status for A-IPF and age status for both %-IPF and A-IPF was observed. A very poor correlation was estimated between age versus %-IPF, ρ = 0.0156, and age versus A-IPF, ρ = -0.0023, indicating that there is no overall biological relationship between age and these parameters. As expected, a strong correlation between %-IPF and A-IPF was noted which could be attributed to their inter-relatedness.This large-scale study showed comparable reference intervals with the previous studies for %-IPF and A-IPF in a UK population. It found the need to establish sex-specific reference intervals for %-IPF, but not for A-IPF, whereas reference intervals were found to be stable across the age range.
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