Umema Zafar - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Umema Zafar

Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences

Objective: To identify the most appropriate tools to measure functions of the brain that can be u... more Objective: To identify the most appropriate tools to measure functions of the brain that can be utilized in the clinical setups of developing countries. Methods: This qualitative research with a three-step approach was carried out from January 2022 to May 2022 at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Pakistan. Firstly, literature was searched to identify main brain faculties, then interviews were conducted with regional field experts to identify appropriate scales for the selected functions. Lastly a rubric was filled using interview transcripts and literature. Results: The identified functions were vision, hearing, cognition, motor and emotions. Based on the rubric the best tests were visual fields (17/24), pure tone audiometry (16/24), Mini-Mental State Exam (20/24), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (18/24), Romberg’s test (19/24) and Manual Muscle Testing (18/24). Conclusion: The clinicians in developing countries can utilize the visual fie...

Qeios

BACKGROUND. Ever since its insurgence and wide-scale spread, COVID-19 has proved to be a challeng... more BACKGROUND. Ever since its insurgence and wide-scale spread, COVID-19 has proved to be a challenge for healthcare workers throughout the world. Efforts have been made to scale its incidence and prevalence, find out cure for it as well as preventive measures like vaccines. METHODS. This is a cross-sectional study in which a predesigned proforma was disseminated amongst the medical students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. To gauge the status of COVID-19 amongst the medical students open-ended and close-ended questions were asked. These involved extracting demographics as well as information pertaining to signs and symptoms, hospital admission status and vaccination. RESULTS. A total of 605 medical students belonging to 16 different medical colleges responded. The frequency of COVID-19 was 31.4%, amongst the medical students. Students of clinical years were 1.31 times more likely to catch the infection than preclinical students. The self-isolation rate was 30.4%, hospital admission rate was 5%,...

Physiology

Importance: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which results from trauma to the head can be a... more Importance: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which results from trauma to the head can be a debilitating condition. If the patient luckily has no complications immediately, the long-term effects like gradually progressing tauopathy can seriously affect the individual's quality of life. This review aims to identify a panel of plasma neurobiomarkers that can be used to screen CTE in adults. Observations: This is a scoping review based on the methodological framework presented by Arksey & O'Malley, in 2005. Keywords were used to search the literature and articles were screened to identify the plasma biomarkers involved in chronic brain injury. A total of 38 plasma protein biomarkers were identified. A rubric was designed keeping in view the characteristics highlighted in the literature. The biomarkers were then scored on the basis of the rubric devised. The biomarkers which obtained the highest scores were Neurofilament Light chain (NfL), Phosphorylated forms of tau (P-Ta...

Research Aspects in Arts and Social Studies Vol. 5, Jan 23, 2023

Journal of Medical Sciences, Apr 21, 2020

Khyber Medical University Journal, 2020

METHODS: This is a cross sectional study conducted from May to September 2017. A total of 194 med... more METHODS: This is a cross sectional study conducted from May to September 2017. A total of 194 medical students from second professional MBBS of any gender were recruited in this study after taking their informed consent. A questionnaire was distributed among the students; their handedness and first professional marks were noted. SPSS v.20.0 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were applied for both categorical and numerical variables while for comparison independent sample t-test was applied. RESULTS: Out of 194 students enrolled, 184 (94.8%) were right-handed & 10 (5.2%) were left-handed. There were 108 (55.7%) male & 86 (44.3%) female students. In right-handed students, 103 (56%) were males and 81 (44%) were females while in left-handed students, five (50%) were males and five (50%) were females. Mean marks in first professional examinations by right-handed and left-handed students were 429.57±39.054 and 439.80±34.113 respectively (p-value=0.481). Mean first professional marks of male and female students were 422.48±37.53 and 439.66±38.46 respectively (p-value=0.002). CONCLUSION: Our study findings infer that handedness does not affect the academic scores in medical students.

World Journal of Clinical Cases

Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences

Objective: To assess the author and journal self-citation amongst journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.... more Objective: To assess the author and journal self-citation amongst journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2021 to July 2021. In total, manuscript published in 10 journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, either recognized by the Higher Education Commission or Pakistan Medical Commission, in the years 2018 and 2019 were included in the present research. All types of manuscripts were analyzed using a pre-designed data extraction table. Results were extracted, analyzed and appropriate statistics were applied. Results: About 1235 manuscripts published in 68 issues over a period of two years’ time were analyzed. The majority of manuscripts were 1039 (84.1%) original articles followed by case reports 90 (7.3%). Author self-citation came out to be 11.26% and journal self-citation was 6.5%. The same institute’s author affiliation came out to be 40.6%. Conclusion: The trend of author self-citation was found to be high while that of journal self-c...

International journal of health sciences

Background: Effect of stress application on the body in particular, one that raises the intrathor... more Background: Effect of stress application on the body in particular, one that raises the intrathoracic pressure, like the Valsalva Maneuver needed to be gauged in the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The aim of this research was to assess the changes induced by Valsalva manoeuvre on the body depicted via an ECG. Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted on healthy young adults in the research laboratory of the physiology department, Khyber Medical College over a period of seven months. A total of 119 subjects were included in research, those with morbidities were excluded. The rest were made to perform the Valsalva manoeuvre for 15 seconds at maintaining pressure of 40 mmHg. The blood pressure, ECG and heart rate were measured during and after the procedure. The data was then analysed using SPSS version 26.0. Results: The significantly affected parameters by stress were blood pressure PR, RR, QT intervals and T wave. The changes in the parameters, at rest, were either insign...

Journal of Ayub Medical College, 2021

In recent times multiple attempts have been made to search for the link between Autism Spectrum D... more In recent times multiple attempts have been made to search for the link between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and gut microbiota. This link is not a myth as the microbiota composition and in turn its bi-products affect not only the Gut-Brain axis but also the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the immune response. Aim of the study was to find the relation between the Gut Microbiota and the pathophysiology and in turn manifestations of ASD. Eight original articles were identified by a systematic search of the MEDLINE database. Those articles were included in the review with clear mention of ASD and microbiota in titles and abstracts. In the majority of studies, Bacteroidetes/ Firmicutes ratio was deranged only one reported it to be normal. Bacteria such as Actinomyces and Proteobacteria were increased and Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Prevotella were decreased. The commonest method of sequencing observed was 16S rRNA. The microbiota composition of the g...

Aim: To find out the gender differences in pulse pressure (PP) of Type II Diabetics with raised H... more Aim: To find out the gender differences in pulse pressure (PP) of Type II Diabetics with raised HBA1C. Methods: This is a Cross sectional study carried out in the outpatient departments and wards of all Medicine units of Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. Its duration is from May 15th to August 3rd, 2017. A total of 70 Diabetic patients above the age of 40 were included in the study. Their height and weight were recorded and BMI calculated. Their Blood pressure (BP) was also measured and the pulse pressure determined. The most recently performed HBA1C test values along with fasting and random blood sugar values were noted. Findings: The mean pulse pressure of males was 61.4 mm Hg, and females was 55.1 mmHg, this difference was not statistically significant, p>0.05. The mean SBP and DBP values were similar between the two genders. The mean HBA1C values were higher in females than males. Conclusion: PP does not differ in the two genders. However, there is a difference in diabetic ...

Aim: To find out whether success in medical Entry Test has any impact on future grades of student... more Aim: To find out whether success in medical Entry Test has any impact on future grades of students in Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Methodology: This is an analytical study conducted in Khyber Medical College, Peshawar from 3rd April, 2016 to 30th May, 2016. The marks obtained in medical Entry Test and 1st Professional MBBS were compared using Pearson Correlation. Data was obtained from appropriate sources and then its evaluation was done. Findings: This study found that there is a Pearson Correlation of 0.303(moderate) between Entry Test marks and the first professional MBBS marks. The scatter plot shows a positive relation between the two, which means that if one increases, so will the other. The p value of less than 0.000 was obtained. Conclusion: Student’s performance in entry test can be a predictability factor for success later on during his undergraduate years. However, there is still, room for improvement in the entry test format. It should be redesigned...

Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 2020

Objective: To assess the educational environment of Khyber Medical College Peshawar, both quantit... more Objective: To assess the educational environment of Khyber Medical College Peshawar, both quantitatively and qualitatively.Material and Methods: This mixed method study was conducted in Khyber Medical College that is one of the pioneermedical institute in the country. A survey of DREEM questionnaire was circulated amongst 175 students both malesand females belonging to year 2. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted by involving class leaders ofall years (12 in number) in the form of a focus group interview that was conducted to triangulate the results of DREEMsurvey. Quantitative data of survey was analyzed by SPSS version 22. Qualitative data was analyzed by recoding theinterview that was later on transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of the transcribed data was done by identifyingcodes, categories and themes manually.Results: A total of 150 students (out of 175) participated in the survey, amongst whom 89 were female students. Themean overall DREEM score was 103.27, ...

Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences

Objective: To identify the most appropriate tools to measure functions of the brain that can be u... more Objective: To identify the most appropriate tools to measure functions of the brain that can be utilized in the clinical setups of developing countries. Methods: This qualitative research with a three-step approach was carried out from January 2022 to May 2022 at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Pakistan. Firstly, literature was searched to identify main brain faculties, then interviews were conducted with regional field experts to identify appropriate scales for the selected functions. Lastly a rubric was filled using interview transcripts and literature. Results: The identified functions were vision, hearing, cognition, motor and emotions. Based on the rubric the best tests were visual fields (17/24), pure tone audiometry (16/24), Mini-Mental State Exam (20/24), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (18/24), Romberg’s test (19/24) and Manual Muscle Testing (18/24). Conclusion: The clinicians in developing countries can utilize the visual fie...

Qeios

BACKGROUND. Ever since its insurgence and wide-scale spread, COVID-19 has proved to be a challeng... more BACKGROUND. Ever since its insurgence and wide-scale spread, COVID-19 has proved to be a challenge for healthcare workers throughout the world. Efforts have been made to scale its incidence and prevalence, find out cure for it as well as preventive measures like vaccines. METHODS. This is a cross-sectional study in which a predesigned proforma was disseminated amongst the medical students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. To gauge the status of COVID-19 amongst the medical students open-ended and close-ended questions were asked. These involved extracting demographics as well as information pertaining to signs and symptoms, hospital admission status and vaccination. RESULTS. A total of 605 medical students belonging to 16 different medical colleges responded. The frequency of COVID-19 was 31.4%, amongst the medical students. Students of clinical years were 1.31 times more likely to catch the infection than preclinical students. The self-isolation rate was 30.4%, hospital admission rate was 5%,...

Physiology

Importance: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which results from trauma to the head can be a... more Importance: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which results from trauma to the head can be a debilitating condition. If the patient luckily has no complications immediately, the long-term effects like gradually progressing tauopathy can seriously affect the individual's quality of life. This review aims to identify a panel of plasma neurobiomarkers that can be used to screen CTE in adults. Observations: This is a scoping review based on the methodological framework presented by Arksey & O'Malley, in 2005. Keywords were used to search the literature and articles were screened to identify the plasma biomarkers involved in chronic brain injury. A total of 38 plasma protein biomarkers were identified. A rubric was designed keeping in view the characteristics highlighted in the literature. The biomarkers were then scored on the basis of the rubric devised. The biomarkers which obtained the highest scores were Neurofilament Light chain (NfL), Phosphorylated forms of tau (P-Ta...

Research Aspects in Arts and Social Studies Vol. 5, Jan 23, 2023

Journal of Medical Sciences, Apr 21, 2020

Khyber Medical University Journal, 2020

METHODS: This is a cross sectional study conducted from May to September 2017. A total of 194 med... more METHODS: This is a cross sectional study conducted from May to September 2017. A total of 194 medical students from second professional MBBS of any gender were recruited in this study after taking their informed consent. A questionnaire was distributed among the students; their handedness and first professional marks were noted. SPSS v.20.0 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were applied for both categorical and numerical variables while for comparison independent sample t-test was applied. RESULTS: Out of 194 students enrolled, 184 (94.8%) were right-handed & 10 (5.2%) were left-handed. There were 108 (55.7%) male & 86 (44.3%) female students. In right-handed students, 103 (56%) were males and 81 (44%) were females while in left-handed students, five (50%) were males and five (50%) were females. Mean marks in first professional examinations by right-handed and left-handed students were 429.57±39.054 and 439.80±34.113 respectively (p-value=0.481). Mean first professional marks of male and female students were 422.48±37.53 and 439.66±38.46 respectively (p-value=0.002). CONCLUSION: Our study findings infer that handedness does not affect the academic scores in medical students.

World Journal of Clinical Cases

Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences

Objective: To assess the author and journal self-citation amongst journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.... more Objective: To assess the author and journal self-citation amongst journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2021 to July 2021. In total, manuscript published in 10 journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, either recognized by the Higher Education Commission or Pakistan Medical Commission, in the years 2018 and 2019 were included in the present research. All types of manuscripts were analyzed using a pre-designed data extraction table. Results were extracted, analyzed and appropriate statistics were applied. Results: About 1235 manuscripts published in 68 issues over a period of two years’ time were analyzed. The majority of manuscripts were 1039 (84.1%) original articles followed by case reports 90 (7.3%). Author self-citation came out to be 11.26% and journal self-citation was 6.5%. The same institute’s author affiliation came out to be 40.6%. Conclusion: The trend of author self-citation was found to be high while that of journal self-c...

International journal of health sciences

Background: Effect of stress application on the body in particular, one that raises the intrathor... more Background: Effect of stress application on the body in particular, one that raises the intrathoracic pressure, like the Valsalva Maneuver needed to be gauged in the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The aim of this research was to assess the changes induced by Valsalva manoeuvre on the body depicted via an ECG. Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted on healthy young adults in the research laboratory of the physiology department, Khyber Medical College over a period of seven months. A total of 119 subjects were included in research, those with morbidities were excluded. The rest were made to perform the Valsalva manoeuvre for 15 seconds at maintaining pressure of 40 mmHg. The blood pressure, ECG and heart rate were measured during and after the procedure. The data was then analysed using SPSS version 26.0. Results: The significantly affected parameters by stress were blood pressure PR, RR, QT intervals and T wave. The changes in the parameters, at rest, were either insign...

Journal of Ayub Medical College, 2021

In recent times multiple attempts have been made to search for the link between Autism Spectrum D... more In recent times multiple attempts have been made to search for the link between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and gut microbiota. This link is not a myth as the microbiota composition and in turn its bi-products affect not only the Gut-Brain axis but also the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the immune response. Aim of the study was to find the relation between the Gut Microbiota and the pathophysiology and in turn manifestations of ASD. Eight original articles were identified by a systematic search of the MEDLINE database. Those articles were included in the review with clear mention of ASD and microbiota in titles and abstracts. In the majority of studies, Bacteroidetes/ Firmicutes ratio was deranged only one reported it to be normal. Bacteria such as Actinomyces and Proteobacteria were increased and Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Prevotella were decreased. The commonest method of sequencing observed was 16S rRNA. The microbiota composition of the g...

Aim: To find out the gender differences in pulse pressure (PP) of Type II Diabetics with raised H... more Aim: To find out the gender differences in pulse pressure (PP) of Type II Diabetics with raised HBA1C. Methods: This is a Cross sectional study carried out in the outpatient departments and wards of all Medicine units of Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. Its duration is from May 15th to August 3rd, 2017. A total of 70 Diabetic patients above the age of 40 were included in the study. Their height and weight were recorded and BMI calculated. Their Blood pressure (BP) was also measured and the pulse pressure determined. The most recently performed HBA1C test values along with fasting and random blood sugar values were noted. Findings: The mean pulse pressure of males was 61.4 mm Hg, and females was 55.1 mmHg, this difference was not statistically significant, p>0.05. The mean SBP and DBP values were similar between the two genders. The mean HBA1C values were higher in females than males. Conclusion: PP does not differ in the two genders. However, there is a difference in diabetic ...

Aim: To find out whether success in medical Entry Test has any impact on future grades of student... more Aim: To find out whether success in medical Entry Test has any impact on future grades of students in Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Methodology: This is an analytical study conducted in Khyber Medical College, Peshawar from 3rd April, 2016 to 30th May, 2016. The marks obtained in medical Entry Test and 1st Professional MBBS were compared using Pearson Correlation. Data was obtained from appropriate sources and then its evaluation was done. Findings: This study found that there is a Pearson Correlation of 0.303(moderate) between Entry Test marks and the first professional MBBS marks. The scatter plot shows a positive relation between the two, which means that if one increases, so will the other. The p value of less than 0.000 was obtained. Conclusion: Student’s performance in entry test can be a predictability factor for success later on during his undergraduate years. However, there is still, room for improvement in the entry test format. It should be redesigned...

Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 2020

Objective: To assess the educational environment of Khyber Medical College Peshawar, both quantit... more Objective: To assess the educational environment of Khyber Medical College Peshawar, both quantitatively and qualitatively.Material and Methods: This mixed method study was conducted in Khyber Medical College that is one of the pioneermedical institute in the country. A survey of DREEM questionnaire was circulated amongst 175 students both malesand females belonging to year 2. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted by involving class leaders ofall years (12 in number) in the form of a focus group interview that was conducted to triangulate the results of DREEMsurvey. Quantitative data of survey was analyzed by SPSS version 22. Qualitative data was analyzed by recoding theinterview that was later on transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of the transcribed data was done by identifyingcodes, categories and themes manually.Results: A total of 150 students (out of 175) participated in the survey, amongst whom 89 were female students. Themean overall DREEM score was 103.27, ...