Dhat Syndrome is commonly reported in the Indian sub continent. Previous researches conduced in India and Sri Lanka has employed clinical observations and informal assessment procedures and no formal assessment tool has yet been developed to examine manifestation of Dhat Syndrome. Main objectives of the present research were to develop Dhat Syndrome Symptom Checklist (DSSC) and to examine manifestation and implications of Dhat Syndrome. A series of studies were carried out to develop DSSC and examine manifestation and implications of Dhat Syndrome. Dhat Syndrome Symptom Checklist (DSSC) was developed through in-depth interviews of health professionals, patients with Dhat Syndrome as well as in consultation with existing literature. Psychometric properties of DSSC were estimated using Inter rater Congruence, Factor Analysis and Reliability Analysis. A final DSSC comprised of 62 symptoms with three subscales i.e. Physical, Psychological and Sexual symptoms (Studies 2 -6). Main study aimed to examine manifestation and implications of Dhat Syndrome. It was hypothesized that patients with Dhat Syndrome would manifest variety of Physical Psychological and Sexual symptoms. Patients with Dhat Syndrome (N = 318) were recruited from private practice of health professionals. Semi Structured Interview Schedule, DSSC and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) were used for assessment and individual assessment of patients was carried out. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics indicated that majority of the patients were consulting Hakims and Homeopaths and typical profile of Dhat Syndrome patient in Pakistan is a young, single, less educated man with poor socioeconomic status. Dhat Syndrome had xviadverse implications for patients’ health, particularly physical and sexual health, and marital life. Premature ejaculation and nocturnal emissions were main reasons for referral, whereas masturbation and exposure to pornographic material was reported as major causes of Dhat Syndrome. Inferential statistics revealed that sexual weakness, education, discharge before urine, perceived implications of Dhat Syndrome on physical and sexual health, severity of the problem, lack of information and diet were significant predictors of “Physical Symptoms”. Sexual weakness, perceived implications of Dhat Syndrome on patient’s life, lack of information and “emission” emerged as significant predictors of “Psychological Symptoms”. Sexual weakness, perceived implications of Dhat Syndrome on health, “emission” and age were significant predictors of “Sexual Symptoms”. Most patients fell above caseness scores on somatic complaints and anxiety. Somatic complaints were experienced the most and depression the least. There was positive relationship between somatic complaints, anxiety, social dysfunctioning, depression and DSSC symptoms. DSSC physical and sexual symptoms, perceived implications of semen loss for patients’ life emerged as significant predictors of somatic complaints in patients. Anxiety in patients was predicted by DSSC physical and psychological symptoms, perceived implications of Dhat Syndrome for patients’ life and “discharge before urine”. DSSC sexual, psychological and physical symptoms, perceived psychological effects of Dhat Syndrome, lack of information about sex and “nocturnal emission” predicted depression in patients. DSSC psychological and physical symptoms emerged as significant predictors of social dysfunctioning in patients.Sex is a tabooed area in Pakistan and this is the first systematic study on Dhat Syndrome in Pakistan. DSSC would be a useful tool for diagnosticians, clinicians and researchers. Findings of the study have very important implications for the patients, health professionals and researchers and warrant the need for counselling services as well as sex education. Moreover, further investigations on sexual health in general and Dhat Syndrome in particular are also recommended. KEY WORDS: Dhat Syndrome, Dhat Syndrome Symptom Checklist, Manifestation, Implications, Hakims, Homeopaths, General Health Questionnaire, Somatic Complaints, Anxiety, Depression, Social Dysfunctioning, Emissions, Discharge before Urine, Nocturnal Emissions.
آہ! بدر کامل غروب ہوگیا افسوس اور سخت افسوس ہے کہ ۱۹؍ جون کو مولانا بدرالدین صاحب اصلاحی ناظم مدرستہ الاصلاح و دائرہ حمیدیہ رحلت فرماگئے، اناﷲ وانا الیہ راجعون۔ کئی برس سے انہیں دردِ پاکی شکایت تھی، اس کے علاج کے لیے بمبئی تشریف لے گئے مگر تکلیف کم ہونے کے بجائے بڑھتی گئی، آمدو رفت کا سلسلہ اور ساری سرگرمیاں منقطع ہوگئیں۔ تاہم دل و دماغ کام کررہا تھا، مشکلات اور پیچیدہ مسائل میں رہنمائی بھی فرماتے تھے۔ ۱۶؍ جون کو مدرستہ الاصلاح کی مجلس انتظامیہ کا جلسہ تھا، وہیں ان کی شدید علالت کی خبر ملی ۱۸؍ جون کو عیادت کے لیے گیا تو گردش روزگار کا یہ عجیب منظر دیکھ کر بدحواس ہوگیا کہ بلبل ہزار داستاں کی طرح چہکنے، اپنی گل افشانی گفتار سے مجلس کو زعفران زار بنانے اور اپنی خطابت اور خوش بیانی سے مسحور کرنے والے کی زبان گنگ ہوگئی ہے اور میں یہ حسرت ہی لیے رہ گیا کہ ع بات کرتے کہ میں لب تشنہ تقریر تھا۔ شاید اشارے سے کچھ کہا ہو مگر میں سمجھ نہیں سکا، ہوش و حواس بھی اچھی طرح بجا نہیں تھے۔ جسم گل کر ہڈیوں کا ڈھانچہ رہ گیا تھا، واپسی میں راستے بھر اور رات کو بھی بڑی دیر تک عجیب خلش اور بے چینی رہی، یہ کرب و اضطراب اس لیے تھا کہ مدرستہ الاصلاح کے اغراض و مقاصد کا حقیقی مبلغ اور ’’فکر حمید‘‘ کا اصلی شارح و ترجمان دنیا سے رخصت ہونے والا ہے، اور اس کا کوئی بدل اور جانشین نہیں ع افسوس کہ از قبیلہ مجنوں کسے نہ ماند۔ دوسرے ہی دن ۱۲؍ بجے متوقع حادثہ کی اطلاع بھی آگئی ساڑھے پانچ بجے جنازہ اٹھا تو جم غفیر ساتھ تھا، قرب و جوار کے لوگوں، مدرستہ الاصلاح کے اساتذہ و طلبہ اور دوسرے بے شمار...
Background: For organizations, conducting work in a safe environment has become mandatory under the provisions and guidelines provided by international and local laws. Occupational health and safety (OHS) standards have become a requisite in almost every industry these days; however, many organizations in developing countries are negligent at adhering to the safety measures, and there is also an absence of proper monitoring. Objective: Our objective was to determine the occupational health and safety standards that are prevailing in the food manufacturing sector of Pakistan. For this, we approached several food manufacturing companies and conducted interviews with quality assurance managers and health and safety executives to evaluate and analyze the workplace conditions to understand their OHS practices. Methods: We conducted 7 interviews with quality assurance managers in the food manufacturing and services companies of Pakistan. The interview guide was used for eliciting responses and a coding method was used to arrive at the themes of the data gathered. Results: The interviews conducted with quality assurance managers and those working to ensure that safety measures are practiced in their company, showed that the export-oriented food manufacturing companies in Pakistan are following OHS standards, as it has become a necessity, with numerous benefits such as ensuring worker safety, maintaining company reputation. However, the extent to which these measures are implemented and strictly followed varies, as there are certain issues that arise when companies try to follow and implement OHS practices The problems vary from company to company however, most of them relate to worker adaptability, costs, and training needs. OHS situation in local firms is concerning. Most of them do not have HSE officers, not the concept of toolbox talk, no preventive and safety measures. These poor practices make the situation unsafe, which lead to fatalities Conclusion: By establishing a national framework for policies and legislations as per the conventions of ILO for a better workplace environment along with proper law enforcement improvement in occupational health and safety domain can be achieved.
Spinel oxides are an important class of versatile materials, which exhibit complex and tunable structures and offer exceptional properties for their potential applications in wide range of modern fields. In this dissertation, two important classes of spinel materials based on iron and aluminum are reported to have been synthesized and characterized experimentally. These are also checked theoretically for their possible applications in electronic and spintronic devices.Firstly, iron based spinel i.e., MgFe2O4, NiFe2O4, and CrFe2O4 were synthesized by sol-gel method whilst thin films were deposited on copper substrates by spin coating technique. In case of MgFe2O4, Mg/Fe ratio was varied as 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55 and 0.6 during sol synthesis. Variation of Mg/Fe ratio strongly affected magnetic and electronic properties along with phase purity of magnesium iron oxide thin films. Peaks corresponding to (220), (222), (400), (331), and (620) planes confirmed formation of MgFe2O4 at a very low annealing temperature of 300 oC with Mg/Fe ratio of 0.55. A single magnetic phase has been achieved with high dielectric constant and low tangent loss at Mg/Fe ratio of 0.55. Semiconducting behavior, revealed by Arrhenius plot, is due to electron hoping between Fe2+ and Fe3+ cations. High saturation magnetization of 163emu/cm3 is achieved which decreased at Mg/Fe values of 0.4, 0.45, 0.5 and 0.6. For NiFe2O4, nickel oxide (NiO) was added to hematite (Fe2O3) and NiFe2O4 phase formation was achieved at 6% Ni dopant concentration. Variation of Ni dopant was observed to strongly affect structural, magnetic and dielectric properties. Particle size of around 10 nm was observed through SEM. High saturation magnetization of 25 emu/g, and dielectric constant of 94 was observed with 6% of Ni dopant concentration. High dielectric constant and low dielectric loss of NiFe2O4 was observed at high frequency that is very interesting for high speed electronic and spintronic devices. Furthermore, antiferromagnetic Cr3+ was added in NiFe2O4 by co-precipitation method. This enhances the utility in magnetic storage, computer memory chips and microwave devices. Single-phase cubic spinel structure was achieved with particle size in the range of 38-49 nm. Structural study revealed phase purity of CrFe2O4 spinel at dopant concentration of 6wt% and again at 9-10wt% with crystal size of 15.45 nm and 14.98 nm respectively. Mixed phases of Fe2O3, Cr5O12, CrFe2O4 or amorphous nature was observed for rest of the dopant concentration ranges. vii Secondly, aluminum based spinel, i.e., FeAl2O4 and ZnAl2O4 were synthesized by sol-gel technique and then the sol was spun on copper substrates with variation in Fe/Al ratio as 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55 and 0.6. XRD patterns revealed that phase pure FelAl2O4 was observed only for the sample with Fe/Al ratio of 0.4. Whereas, Fe2O3 peaks appeared along with iron aluminum oxide peaks for rest of the ratios. M-H curves showed enhanced magnetic properties of films having 42.325 emu/cm3 saturation magnetization, 10 emu/cm3 remnant magnetization, and 430.19 Oe coercivity. Conductivity measurements showed transition in electrical properties at a temperature of 127 K. Room temperature magnetoresistance ̴ 10% was observed for iron aluminum oxide thin films with Fe/Al of 0.4. For ZnAl2O4, glass substrate was used for preparation of thin films by spin coating. Dopant concentration (1-10%) was carried out beyond the solid solubility limit to allow further reaction of ZnO and dopant oxide for the formation of phase-pure ZnAl2O4. XRD results confirmed formation of phase pure ZnO in undoped films with preferred orientation along (101) plane. ZnO phase persisted with aluminum doping till 3% along with change in preferred orientation from (101) to (001) plane. Mixed ZnO, Al2O3, ZnAl2O4 phases were observed at dopant concentrations of 4-6% and 9-10%. Phase pure ZnAl2O4 was obtained at dopant concentrations of 7-8%. Films showed high transmission in the visible and infrared regions. Highest transmission ~ 91% with band gap of 3.756 eV was observed for ZnAl2O4 films with dopant concentration of 8%. Refractive index of 2.16 at 500nm was observed at this dopant concentration whereas dielectric constant of 64.86 (log f=5.0) was observed due to high grain boundary resistance of 3.218 MΩ as determined by ZView software. Temperature dependent dielectric analysis indicated negative temperature coefficient for ZnAl2O4 thin films with activation energy of 1.86 eV.Thirdly, ab-initio calculations were performed to calculate structural, electrical and magnetic properties for MgFe2O4, CrFe2O4, NiFe2O4, FeAl2O4 and ZnAl2O4 by using Density Functional Theory. Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) without and with U (PBE, PAW and modified Becke Johnson (mBJ) potentials) was implemented to accomplish theoretical investigations. Experimental results obtained so far are in good agreement with the theoretical observations.