The authors would like to make the following corrections to the published paper [...]

The main objective of this study is to estimate the changes in land use and land cover in the Peshawar basin, Pakistan, from 2000 to 2020. This will greatly improve the selection of areas designated as the agricultural, industrial, and/or urban sectors of the region and will help in overcoming future problems. With the help of an advanced geographic information system (GIS), land-use and topographic changes were identified. Based on data of the 20 years from 2000 to 2020, the total runoff volume in the Peshawar basin from 2000 to 2010 was calculated to be 13.9 km3 and from 2010 to 2020 was 19.4 km3. This volume estimation will assist in quantifying the total infiltration rate. We inferred that the built-up area increased the most from 2010 to 2020 as compared to other classes. Results showed that from 2000 to 2020, there was a significant increase in urbanization and a significant decrease in vegetation. This study will help the farmer community and environmentalists to manage range land, agricultural land, populations, and water bodies.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of congenital cardiac anomalies in patients with anorectal malformations. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. Period: Jan 2018 to June 2018. Material & Methods: All patients from 0 to 30 days of life both males and females (Inclusion criteria) with diagnosed anorectal malformation on clinical and radiological assessment, underwent cardiovascular work up to identify any cardiovascular disease. Patients with intersex disorders and those operated elsewhere were excluded. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for age. Frequency and percentage were calculated for gender, type of anorectal malformation, genital ambiguity, previous surgical intervention and congenital cardiac anomalies. Data was stratified for age, gender, lesion level, genital ambiguity and previous surgery to see the effect modification. Results: Out of 90 patients with anorectal malformation, there were 49 (54%) males and 41 (46%) females (M: F;1:1.19). with mean age of 7.65 ± 2.43 days. There were 39 (43.34%) patients with low anorectal malformation and 51 (56.67%) patients with high anorectal malformation. Genital ambiguity and previous surgical intervention was present in 8 (8.89%) and 11 (12.23%) patients, respectively. Congenital Cardiac Anomalies were diagnosed in 16 (17.78%) patients with anorectal malformation. Congenital Cardiac Anomalies were mostly seen in age group 1-10 days (21.95%), male children (22.45%) and high anorectal malformation (23. 52%). Conclusion: The frequency of congenital cardiac anomalies in patients with anorectal malformations was found lower than local figures. The majority of congenital cardiac anomalies associated with high anorectal malformation and male gender.

Background; To evaluate the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the national surgical residency program of Pakistan in terms of its effects on skill development, academics, research activities, and fellowship examination/assessment. Material and methods; A 16 item validated survey was designed to conduct this cross-sectional study which was carried out in 3 tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. Ethical approval was granted by institutional review board after formal piloting. The study included 169 residents from both general surgery and surgery-allied disciplines. Participants characteristics and Responses were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and presented as percentages value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Before the pandemic, more than 80 % general surgery residents had frequent or occasional opportunities to engage in surgical activities as observer, assistant, dependent or independent performer. During pandemic these opportunities were less than 20 % and more than 75 % had rare or no such opportunities. Almost similar and statistically significant was the impact on the skills exposure opportunities for surgery-allied residents. 100 % general surgery residents and 98.9 % surgery-allied residents had frequent or occasional opportunities to attend academic ward rounds before the pandemic while 91 % general surgery residents and 80 % surgery allied residents had only rare or no opportunities to attend academic ward rounds. Data collection of 88.6 % general surgery residents and 80 % surgery allied residents were affected to more or less extent on the Likert scale. In both disciplines less than 15 % residents. Among the general surgery residents only 9 (11.4%) confident, and 1 (1.3%) very confident that the exam will take place in time despite the pandemic. These figures were 11.4% and 4.4 % only in surgery-allied discipline.Conclusion: The COVID 19 pandemic has severely damaged all the pillars of surgical residency program in Pakistan. Residents think that they have lagged behind than they should have been at this stage of residency and are not sure of the months to come in prospect of their training. They feel insecure whether they will be able to complete their research projects in time or not. Moreover, they are not confident about the schedule of their module/exit exam.Key-Words: Pandemic, residency, COVID,