Background: The current study is aimed to assess menstruation-related knowledge and practices of adolescent females visiting a public health care institute of Quetta city, Pakistan. Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted. Nine hundred and twenty three female adolescents attending general outpatient departments of Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Hospital Quetta, Balochistan, was approached for data collection. Based on the objectives of the study, descriptive analysis was conducted and SPSS v. 21.0 was used for the data analysis. Results: Demographic characteristics revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 15 years. Mothers' (67%) were the main source of menstruation-related information. Majority (77.7%) of our respondents never had a class or session regarding menstruation-related education in their schools. About (44%) knew that menstruation is a physiological phenomenon while 60.2% knew that menstrual blood comes from the vagina. Nearly 40% of our study respondents missed their schools because of menarche. The use of absorbent material was frequent (90%) among the adolescent females and (68.7%) used commercially available sanitary napkins/pads. Although majority of the respondents (58.2%) were not taking baths during menstruation, 80.5% do cleaned their genitalia with water during menstruation. Conclusion: Female adolescents of our study had certain misconception regarding menstruation because of poor access to health-related education. Education can be provided at healthcare facilities, residential area as well as religious centers. Adolescent reproductive health should be included in the school curriculum; this will influence general reproductive health of females.

For decades, religion has provided explanations and answers to existential questions and queries that can emerge during a pandemic. This characteristic of religion has helped communities in finding answers and meanings to their confusions. During a pandemic, healthcare professionals are often unprepared in answering the patients' religious beliefs regarding the diseases. Moreover, patients are faced with religious clichés and stigma that results because of religious beliefs and practices. To overcome the religious stigma, a deeper understanding of religious beliefs and values is required so that a perception or practice change can take place. Therefore, the inclusion and collaboration of spiritual leaders with healthcare professionals are needed to ensure a holistic understanding and overcome the stigma that can shape as a barrier for reaching an optimal therapeutic outcome.

A simple and sensitive flow-injection (FI) method is reported for the determination of thiram and aminocarb pesticides in natural water samples based on the strong enhancing effects of these pesticides on the tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)-diperiodatoargentate(III) (Ru(bipy)3 2+ -DPA) chemiluminescence (CL) system. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the CL intensity was linear over the range of 1.0 -1000 and 1.0 -10000 ng mL -1 (R 2 = 0.9998 (n = 7) and 0.9994 (n = 11)) for thiram and aminocarb, respectively, with relative standard deviations (RSDs; n = 3) in the range 1.0 -2.6%. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) were 0.1 ng mL -1 for both pesticides with injection throughputs of 150 h -1 . The key chemical and physical variables (reagent concentrations, flow rates, sample volume, PMT voltage) were optimized and potential interferences investigated. The method was successfully applied to natural water samples and the results obtained were not significantly different (95% confidence interval) from results obtained by the previously reported FI-CL and HPLC methods. Thiram could be determined in the presence of aminocarb using Triton X-100. The possible CL reaction mechanism is also discussed briefly.

Purpose Quality use of antibiotics and the development of antibiotic resistance is a global catastrophe. In the conceptual context, the phenomenon is correlated with the healthcare practitioners’ understanding of antibiotic use and resistance. Therefore, the study aimed to highlight nurses’ perception of antibiotic use and resistance at a public healthcare institute in Quetta City, Pakistan. Respondents and Methods By using a semi-structured interview guide through the phenomenology-based approach, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted. Nurses practicing at the surgical and medical units of Sandeman Provincial Hospital (SPH), Quetta, were approached for the study. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and were then analyzed for thematic contents by the standard content analysis framework. Results Although the saturation was reached after the 13th interview, an additional two were interviewed for absolute validation. Content analysis revealed five major themes: (1) defining antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, (2) antibiotic use: awareness and concern, (3) antimicrobial resistance: awareness and concern, (4) responding to antibiotic use and resistance, and (5) barriers to quality use of antibiotics and prevention of antibiotic resistance. Even though the understanding of nurses regarding antibiotic use and resistance was promising, certain apprehensions were also observed. The respondents were aware of the critical situation and provided valuable insights that can offer significant input while promoting the quality use of antibiotics in a developing country. Conclusion While the perception towards antibiotics appeared positive, potential areas of concern and contributing factors regarding antibiotic resistance were also identified. Importantly, nurses too highlighted possible solutions to address the issue of irrational antibiotic use and the development of antibiotic resistance.

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