A self-administered validated (Cronbach's alpha¼0.077) questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, attitude and practice among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Pakistan regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Findings showed that HCWs have good knowledge (93.2%, N¼386), a positive attitude [mean 8.43 (standard deviation 1.78)] and good practice (88.7%, N¼367) regarding COVID-19. HCWs perceived that limited infection control material (50.7%, N¼210) and poor knowledge regarding transmission (40.6%, N¼168) were the major barriers to infection control. Regression analysis indicated that pharmacists were more likely to demonstrate good practice than other HCWs (odds ratio 2.247, 95% confidence interval 1.11e4.55, P¼0.025). This study found that HCWs in Pakistan have good knowledge, but there are gaps in specific aspects of knowledge and practice that warrant attention.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable infection and Pakistan faces sudden hike in number of positive cases including number of healthcare professionals (HCPs) also acquired infection. Knowledge, attitude, and practice survey provides a suitable format to evaluate existing programs and to identify effective strategies for behavior change in society. Therefore, the aim of study is to assess knowledge, attitude and practice among HCPs in Pakistan regarding COVID-19. An online survey-based study was conducted among healthcare professionals including physicians, pharmacists and nurses. A self-administered validated (Cronbach alpha= 0.077) questionnaire comprised of five sections (Demographics, Knowledge, attitude, practice and perceived barriers) were used for data collection. Of 414 participants, 29.98% (n=120) physicians, 46.65% (n= 189) pharmacists and 25.36% (n= 105%) nurses. Most commonly utilized information source was social media. Findings showed HCPs have good knowledge (93.2%, n=386), positive attitude (8.43±1.78) and good practice (88.7%, n=367) regarding COVID-19. HCPs perceived that overcrowding in emergency room (52.9%, n=219), limited infection control material (50.7%, n=210) and poor knowledge regarding transmission (40.6%, n=168) of COVID-19 are the major barriers in infection control practice. Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that HCPs of age group 40-49 years (OR: 1.419, 95%CI: (0.14-4.78, P=0.041) have higher odds of good knowledge. Similarly, age group of 31-39 years (OR: 1.377, 95% CI: 0.14-2.04, P=0.05), experience of more than 5 years (OR: 10.71, 95% CI: 2.83-40.75, P<0.001), and pharmacist job (OR: 2.247, 95% CI: 1.11-4.55, P=0.025) were the substantial determinants of good practice regarding COVID-19. HCPs in Pakistan have good knowledge, yet, there are areas where gaps in knowledge and practice was observed. To effectively control infection spread, well-structured . CC-BY 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. (which was not certified by peer review) : medRxiv preprint training programs must be launched by government targeting all kinds of HCPs to raise their existed knowledge.

Cancer is currently responsible for around 6 million deaths worldwide. Cancer-related deaths are predicted to rise to 74% in the next several years which is alarming for the developing countries. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and is also the leading cause mortality. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the practices opted by Pakistani women about breast self and clinical Examination and screening modalities. Methods: Total 453 selected female University students using the "Epitool" online sample calculation website with a 95% confidence interval and a 5% margin of error were selected. All girls between the age of 18-55 years who were currently enrolled in one of the study programs and could complete the English questionnaire were included in the study. The Breast Cancer Investigation Questionnaire (BCIQ) was used in study. SPSS version 25.0 was used to analyze the data. Results: The respondents' mean age was 22.87± 4.67 years. The prevalence of knowledge of breast cancer screening techniques was high 341 (75.3%), 245(53.3%) and 273 (60%), respectively, for breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography. However, only 345 (75.1%), 303 (36.9%), and 255 (56.2%) knew BSE, CBE, and mammography are helpful in breast cancer diagnosis respectively. Conclusion: Even though many females were aware of breast cancer and self-examination, the number of women who do BSE was alarmingly low.

We report a simple route to synthesized erosion resistant epoxy-based nanocomposite coatings. The silica nanoparticles were surfaced modified using stearic acid and then incorporated into the epoxy coating. The resulting nanocomposite coating films were characterized for erosion resistance, mechanical and thermal stability. For the application on turbine blades, conventional techniques were used. It was found that for the incorporation of nano silica into the epoxy matrix, surface modification was essential. Besides, incorporation of silica resulted in considerable improvement in the resistance to erosive wear and a life span improvement of around 36 percent was achieved. Similar trend was observed for the Shore D hardness which increases from 60 for the virgin coating to 70 for the nanocomposite coating.

This study uses the Good Governance approach with five basic pillars: open government and transparency; public services delivery; citizen participation; accountability; and innovation and technology with 12 principles of good governance as a method and approach. The relevant literature and political parties’ commitment during the election campaign in 2018 was presented as evidence of the significance of the study. Primary data of 75 hospitals of two districts quantitatively 44 hospitals of district Swabi and 31 hospitals of district Buner visited and asked quantitative and qualitative question-near about infrastructure and healthcare facilities, equipment, and staff behaviour with researcher observations. The data analyzed with chi-Square SPSS Primary Health (PH) and Secondary Health (SH) into satisfactory and un-satisfactory PH found ignored and suggested, SH found facilitated as satisfactory. The result shows that primary data need waiting areas, drinking water, supply of up-to-date routine equipment, availability of medicine, presentation of doctors, availability of ambulance, and infection prevention control (IPC) mechanisms to reduce the burden of patients over secondary and tertiary hospitals.