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Pakistani women are vulnerable to all kinds of violence due to the patriarchal setup of society. We examined the justification of wife beating by women and men of reproductive group that comprised of 15-49 years of age by doing secondary data analysis on nationally representative cross- sectional survey data from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, 2012-13. The analysis was conducted on randomly selected 13,558 ever- married women and 3134 ever- married men representing all the four provinces of Pakistan including Gilgit Baltistan and federal capital Islamabad. The data showed that women justified wife beating more as compared to men. The findings of multivariable logistic regression depicted that women living with partners, having no access to information, lacking autonomy, and no control over income were more likely to justify wife beating while men who did not have access to information were more in favor of this acts. These findings may help in devising strategies to change the mindset regarding justification of wife beating in Pakistan., Author(s): Faiza Tayyab [sup.1] , Nudrat Kamal [sup.1] , Tahira Akbar [sup.1] , Rubeena Zakar [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Gender Studies, University of the Punjab, 0000 0001 0670 [...]

Objectives: To review the evidence of a relationship between sugar-containing methadone and dental caries. Data sources: A systematic search of Cochrane Library, PubMed, PsychINFO, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Current Controlled Trials, WHO, OHRN, SIGLE and ERIC databases was conducted from January 1978 up to June 2010. Study selection: Articles were assessed and data abstracted independently by two reviewers. Papers that provided information about methadone and dental caries and were written in English were included, regardless of type of publication, authors, source of financial support and outcomes. Nineteen articles were identified; of these only three contained quantitative evidence, one of which was a survey. Conclusions: Many people on oral methadone maintenance programmes have been reported to have high levels of dental caries. However, there is no strong evidence to support a direct link between sugar-containing methadone and an increase in dental caries. High quality studies are required to assess the potential adverse effects of methadone on oral health. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Purpose-The purpose of the study was to assess the usefulness of digital library resources & services, and the value of multidisciplinary databases among postgraduate researchers/students. This research study is an investigation of technology acceptance behaviours of university library users in Lahore, Pakistan. It also works on user's perception and usage of digital databases, user's level of satisfaction, user's ease of use and usefulness to use digital library databases and identifications of factors affecting accessing digital databases. This research study is based on the TAM model in the context of technology acceptance by postgraduate researchers. Design/methodology/approach-This is a quantitative research study based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and two basic variables i.e. perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) adopted to check the acceptance level of library users through an adapted questionnaire-survey of 243 post-graduate students of higher degree-awarding universities/institutes of Pakistan, accredited from Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. Findings-The findings of this study discovered that the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the system are significant predictors that play the primary role in accepting the particular system. The effect of moderating variables with respect to gender and age impacts the acceptance level. The findings of this research study also show that female researchers use online library databases conveniently and preferably, as compared to male researchers. Implications-The results of this research study will help out teachers, students, and institutional administration in their academic pursuits. The faculty can get a better idea of how to teach and lead researchers from the available digital information resources and services provided by the university libraries. It will also help in decision making about the selection or rejection of resources for the library's users/students. Originality/value-This research study provides valuable/important insights into key factors that impact and affect user's perception & intention to use and accept library technological services and digital resources from the Pakistani perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By introducing a thin non-stoichiometric CeO2-x switching layer between the high oxygen affinity metal TaN top electrode and the TiO2 layer in a TaN/CeO2-x/TiO2/Pt bilayer (BL) device, it is possible to enhance the endurance characteristics and overcome the reliability issue. Compared with a single layer device, a BL device significantly enhances the number of direct current overswitching cycles to >1.2 × 104, non-destructive retention (>104 s), and switching uniformity. A TaON interface layer is formed which served as a reservoir of oxygen ions (O2−) in the SET-process and acts as an O2− supplier to refill the oxygen vacancies in the RESET-process and so plays a key role in the formation and rupture of conductive filaments. This study demonstrates that simply introducing a thin non-stoichiometric CeO2-x switching layer into TiO2-based devices can facilitate the enhancement of the endurance property for future nonvolatile memory applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To review the evidence of a relationship between sugar-containing methadone and dental caries.Data sources: A systematic search of Cochrane Library, PubMed, PsychINFO, EMBASE, MEDLINE,Current Controlled Trials, WHO, OHRN, SIGLE and ERIC databases was conducted from January 1978 upto June 2010.Study selection: Articles were assessed and data abstracted independently by two reviewers. Papersthat provided information about methadone and dental caries and were written in English were included,regardless of type of publication, authors, source of financial support and outcomes. Nineteen articles wereidentified; of these only three contained quantitative evidence, one of which was a survey.Conclusions: Many people on oral methadone maintenance programmes have been reported to havehigh levels of dental caries. However, there is no strong evidence to support a direct link between sugarcontainingmethadone and an increase in dental caries. High quality studies are required to assess thepotential adverse effects of methadone on oral health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memory devices with bilayer CeO2−x/ZnO and ZnO/CeO2−x heterostructures sandwiched between Ti top and Pt bottom electrodes were fabricated by RF-magnetron sputtering at room temperature. N-type semiconductor materials were used in both device heterostructures, but interestingly, change in heterostructure and electroforming polarity caused significant variations in resistive switching (RS) properties. Results have revealed that the electroforming polarity has great influence on both CeO2−x/ZnO and ZnO/CeO2−x heterostructure performance such as electroforming voltage, good switching cycle-to-cycle endurance (~ 102), and ON/OFF ratio. A device with CeO2−x/ZnO heterostructure reveals good RS performance due to the formation of Schottky barrier at top and bottom interfaces. Dominant conduction mechanism of high resistance state (HRS) was Schottky emission in high field region. Nature of the temperature dependence of low resistance state and HRS confirmed that RS is caused by the formation and rupture of conductive filaments composed of oxygen vacancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance switching characteristics of CeO2/Ti/CeO2 tri-layered films sandwiched between Pt bottom electrode and two different top electrodes (Ti and TaN) with different work functions have been investigated. RRAM memory cells composed of TaN/CeO2/Ti/CeO2/Pt reveal better resistive switching performance instead of Ti/CeO2/Ti/CeO2/Pt memory stacks. As compared to the Ti/CeO2 interface, much better ability of TaN/CeO2 interface to store and exchange plays a key role in the RS performance improvement, including lower forming/SET voltages, large memory window (~102) and no significant data degradation during endurance test of >104 switching cycles. The formation of TaON thinner interfacial layer between TaN TE and CeO2 film is found to be accountable for improved resistance switching behavior. Partial charge density of states is analyzed using density functional theory. It is found that the conductive filaments formed in CeO2 based devices is assisted by interstitial Ti dopant. Better stability and reproducibility in cycle-to-cycle (C2C) resistance distribution and Vset/Vreset uniformity were achieved due to the modulation of current conduction mechanism from Ohmic in low field region to Schottky emission in high field region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance switching characteristics of CeO 2 /Ti/CeO 2 tri-layered films sandwiched between Pt bottom electrode and two different top electrodes (Ti and TaN) with different work functions have been investigated. RRAM memory cells composed of TaN/CeO 2 /Ti/CeO 2 /Pt reveal better resistive switching performance instead of Ti/CeO 2 /Ti/CeO 2 /Pt memory stacks. As compared to the Ti/CeO 2 interface, much better ability of TaN/CeO 2 interface to store and exchange plays a key role in the RS performance improvement, including lower forming/SET voltages, large memory window (~10 2 ) and no significant data degradation during endurance test of >10 4 switching cycles. The formation of TaON thinner interfacial layer between TaN TE and CeO 2 film is found to be accountable for improved resistance switching behavior. Partial charge density of states is analyzed using density functional theory. It is found that the conductive filaments formed in CeO 2 based devices is assisted by interstitial Ti dopant. Better stability and reproducibility in cycle-to-cycle (C2C) resistance distribution and V set /V reset uniformity were achieved due to the modulation of current conduction mechanism from Ohmic in low field region to Schottky emission in high field region.