Level of Serum Uric Acid in Pre-eclamptic and Normal Pregnant Women

Objective: The objective of study was to find out serum uric acid level in normal andpreeclamptic pregnant women of third trimester visiting outpatient department of obstetrics and gynecology of Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur. Methodology: It was a cross sectional descriptive study conducted form July 2018 to June 2019. All primigravida women of age 18-35 years in third trimester of singleton pregnancy attending in Obstetrics and Gynecology Outpatient Department of Bahawal Victoria Hospital in study duration were included in the study. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS version 14. Chi-square test was performed to find the statistical difference regarding uric acid distribution between groups and ‘p' value <0.05 was considered as a lowest level of significance. Results: Out of total 1212 women 84.6% were normal and 15.4% had preeclampsia. In our study out of 187 preeclamptic women, 63.6% had raised serum uric acid level and out of 268 normal pregnant women uric acid level was raised in only 39.5%. Results were found statistically significant. Conclusion: Results of our study suggest that serum uric acid level in pregnant women can be used as a useful and inexpensive marker in prediction of preeclampsia and preventive measures can be taken accordingly

The Structural Characteristics of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Beams

تهدف هذه الدراسة الي دراسة السلوك الانشائي للعتبات الخرسانية المسلحة الخفيفية الوزن. تم استخدام ركام الاتبولكايت وركام كسر الطابوق الطيني كركام خشن خفيف الوزن لانتاج خرسانية انشائية خفيفة الوزن. حيث مقاومة الانضغاط  للخرسانة الخفيفة الوزن الحاوية على ركام الاتبولكايت و ركام كسر الطابوق الطيني تساوي 25 و 43.6 ميغاباسكال على التوالي. في حين الكثافة الجافة للخرسانة الخفيفة الوزن الحاوية على ركام الاتبولكايت و ركام كسر الطابوق الطيني تساوي 1805 كغم/م۳ و 1977 كغم/م۳ على التوالي. تمت مقارنة نتائج فحص العتبات الخرسانية المسلحة الخفيفة الوزن مع نتائج العتبات الخرسانية المسلحة الاعتيادية الوزن، علما ان مقاومة الانضغاط والكثافة الجافة للخرسانة الاعتيادية الوزن تساوي 50.5 ميغاباسكال و2317 كغم/م۳ على التوالي. لكل نوع من انواع الخرسانة تم صب نموذجين (عتبتين) بابعاد (1200*180*140 ) ملم . تم فحص احدهما تحت تأثير حملين مركزين متناظرين  (a/d = 2.2) النموذج الاخر تم فحصه تحت تأثير حمل مركز في نقطة واحدة (a/d = 3.3) بعمر 28 يوم. النتائج التي تم الحصول عليها من الاختبارات توضح  امكانية انتاج خرسانة انشائية خفيفة الوزن بأستخدام الاتبولكايت وكسر الطابوق الطيني كركام خشن. حيث الكثافة الجافة للخرسانة الخفيفة الوزن الحاوية على ركام الاتبولكايت و ركام كسر الطابوق الطيني تساوي 1805 كغم/م۳ و 1977 كغم/م۳ على التوالي. في حين مقاومة الانضغاط  للخرسانة الخفيفة الوزن الحاوية على ركام الاتبولكايت و ركام كسر الطابوق الطيني تساوي 25 و 43.6 ميغاباسكال على التوالي. اما بالنسبة للتحمل الاقصى للعتبات فان  العتبات الخرسانية المفحوصة تحت تأثر حملين مركزين متناظرين فان  تحملها الاقصى يقل عند استخدام ركام الاتبولكايت بدل ركام كسر الطابق الطيني او الركام الاعيتادي الوزن بنسبة  4.85 % و 5 % على التوالي. في حين العتبات الخرسانية المفحوصة تحت تأثر حمل مركز في نقطة واحدة فان  تحملها الاقصى يقل عند استخدام ركام الاتبولكايت بدل ركام كسر الطابق الطيني او الركام الاعيتادي الوزن بنسبة 10.3 % و 10.5 % على التوالي. كذلك اوضحت نتائج الاختبارت ان الخرسانة الخفيفة الوزن الحاوية على ركام الاتبولكايت او ركام كسر الطابوق الطيني اظهرت مرونة و متانة اقل من الخرسانة الاعتيادية الوزن.This paper aims to investigate the structural behavior of reinforced lightweight concrete beams. Attapulgite aggregate and crushed clay brick aggregate were used as coarse lightweight aggregate to produce structural lightweight aggregate concrete with 25 Mpa and 43.6 Mpa cube compressive strength and 1805 Kg/m3 and 1977 Kg/m3 oven dry density respectively. The result of reinforced lightweight concrete beams compared with reinforced normal weight concrete beams, which have 50.5 Mpa cylinder compressive strength and 2317 Kg/m3 oven dry density. For each type of concrete two reinforced concrete beams with (1200 mm length × 180 mm height × 140 mm width), one of them tested under symmetrical two-points load STPL (a/d = 2.2) and another one tested under one-point load OPL (a/d=3.3) at 28 days. The experimental program shows that a structural lightweight aggregate concrete can be produced by using Attapulgite aggregate with 25 MPa cube compressive strength and 1805 Kg/m3 oven dry density and by using crushed clay brick aggregate with 43.6 MPa cube compressive strength and 1977 Kg/m3 oven dry density. The weight of Attapulgite aggregate concrete and crushed clay bricks aggregate concrete beam specimens were lower than normal weight aggregate concrete beams by about 20.56% and 13.65% respectively at 28 days.  As for the ultimate load capacities of beam specimens, the ultimate load of Attapulgite aggregate concrete beams tested under STPL were lower than that of crushed clay bricks aggregate concrete beams and normal weight aggregate concrete beams by about 4.85% and 5% respectively. While the ultimate load capacities of reinforced Attapulgite concrete beams tested under OPL were lower than that of reinforced crushed clay bricks aggregate concrete beams and reinforced normal weight aggregate concrete beams by about 10.3% and 10.5% respectively. Finally, Attapulgite aggregate concrete and crushed clay bricks aggregate concrete showed ductility and toughness less than that of Normal weight aggregate concrete

Evaluation of Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Sauce and Formulation of Tamarindus indica (L.) And Prunus domestica (L.) Fruits

The formulation and sauce of Tamarindus indica  (L.) and Prusnus  dometica (L.) are very popular recipes across globe. But, not even a single study existed on free-radical scavenging activity (FRSA) of afore-mentioned recipes. So, the present study was designed to bridge this gap of information. The FRSA of individual samples were also determined and compared with that of combinations of both. The highest value for FRSA among all samples was that of T. indica (158.9732 ± 12.658 % at 100 μg ml-1). It was followed by that of individual extract of P. domestica fruit (96.647 ± 0.554 %). The percent FRSA of both combinations was less than that of individual sample extracts. The highest SA recorded was 93.886 ± 0.471 % and 77.64 ± 16.391 % respectively. The fruit length was 10.18 ± 0.34 cm and 4.7 ± 0.2 cm for T. indica  and P. domestica  respectively. The width of fruit was 1.6±0.3 cm and 4.55 ± 0.12 cm for T. indica  and P. domestica  respectively. The weight of fruit was 7.2 ± 0.6 g and 44.8 ± 0.37 g for T. indica  and P. domestica  respectively, Pulp weight was 48 ± 0.43% and 94.58±0.352% for T. indica  and P. domestica  respectively. The stone weight was 30 ± 0.421 % and 5.42±0.224  %  for T. indica  and P. domestica  respectively. The values of squared R reflected that there was a strong correlation between the concentrations and percent SA for all the studied samples (p \u3c 0.05) with values of R2 0.896 and 0.946 in case of T. indica and P. domestica extracts respectively and 0.980 and 0.875 for sauce and formulation respectively. It was concluded that the mixture of both ingredients has considerable potential for scavenging free radicals

AI-Driven Road Maintenance Inspection v2: Reducing Data Dependency & Quantifying Road Damage

Road infrastructure maintenance inspection is typically a labor-intensive and critical task to ensure the safety of all road users. Existing state-of-the-art techniques in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for object detection and segmentation help automate a huge chunk of this task given adequate annotated data. However, annotating videos from scratch is cost-prohibitive. For instance, it can take an annotator several days to annotate a 5-minute video recorded at 30 FPS. Hence, we propose an automated labelling pipeline by leveraging techniques like few-shot learning and out-of-distribution detection to generate labels for road damage detection. In addition, our pipeline includes a risk factor assessment for each damage by instance quantification to prioritize locations for repairs which can lead to optimal deployment of road maintenance machinery. We show that the AI models trained with these techniques can not only generalize better to unseen real-world data with reduced requirement for human annotation but also provide an estimate of maintenance urgency, thereby leading to safer roads.Comment: Accepted at IRF Global R2T Conference & Exhibition 202

A case of finger clubbing associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a young girl, and review of pathophysiology

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is characterized by clubbing of the digital tips and periosteal reaction of long bones. Most of the cases are associated with malignancy or other conditions such as congenital heart disease, liver cirrhosis, pulmonary fibrosis, biliary atresia and gastrointestinal polyps. Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy associated with malignancy is rare in children. A few cases of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in children with nasopharyngeal carcinoma have been reported. This is a case of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma with lung and bone metastasis in a 16 year old girl. In this case, lung metastases progressed after intensive chemotherapy and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (Clubbing) persisted

Trend and Determinants of China’s OFDI in Asia

The fundamental objective of this paper is to show the pattern and magnitude of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Asia and respond to the question: what determines the spectacular surge in Chinese FDI inflow to Asia in recent time? This study will enable the policy makers to devise and execute polices to attract further Chinese FDI in future. Based on a dataset of 37 Asian host countries, we used panel data technique to explore the determinants of Chinese outward FDI over the period 2003-2012. Our findings revealed that inflation, natural resources endowment, infrastructure, bilateral trade and openness to the trade have positive and significant impact on Chinese FDI in Asia. Political stability a key institutional variable is significant but negatively associated with FDI. This study has key policy implications.  Policy makers in Asia must formulate policies to improve economic relationship with China, provide trade incentives and remove all barriers to trade and capital movement to attract Chinese FDI. Infrastructure availability is also key to export performance and FDI inflow, therefore, countries lagging behind in quality of infrastructure must focus on its reconstruction and availability. Keywords: Foreign Direct investment, Asia, Political stability, infrastructur

Modified Le Fort I Osteotomy and Genioplasty for Management of Severe Dentofacial Deformity in β-Thalassaemia Major: Case report and review of the literature

β-thalassaemia major is an autosomal recessive form of haemoglobinopathy that is characterised by complete lack of production of the β-chains resulting in multiple complications that include severe anaemia, failure to thrive and skeletal abnormalities. Facial deformities induced by β-thalassaemia major are rare and are very challenging to treat from a surgical point of view. We report a 33-year-old female patient with β-thalassaemia major who presented to the Dental & Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in 2017 with gross dentofacial skeletal deformity contributing to her psychosocial issues. The facial deformity was corrected surgically by excision of the enlarged maxilla, modified Le Fort I osteotomy and advancement genioplasty. This case highlights the pre-operative preparation, surgical management, encountered complications and treatment outcome within 24 months of follow-up.Keywords: Beta-Thalassaemia; Thalassaemia Major; Cooley's Anemia; Le Fort Osteotomy; Genioplasty; Dentofacial Deformities; Case Report; Oman

Providing care beyond the hospital: Perspective of a tertiary care hospital from a developing country

Background: Neurorehabilitation is an important aspect of continuing care for neurosurgical patients with functional disability. In developing countries, where formal home nursing frequently is unavailable, ensuring care after discharge is a difficult task. Training attendants to provide nursing care is an alternate option. In this study, we compared the outcomes of patients nursed by family members versus those looked after by a professional nurse.Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi. The study consisted of 2 groups. Group 1 (consisting of patients cared for by a professional nurse) included 94 patients and group 2 (patients cared for by family members) included 102. All these patients had activity of daily living score of ≥3. Glasgow Outcomes Scale score, time to decannulation, development/worsening of bedsores, and mortality were recorded and compared between the groups at follow-up.Results: The study included 196 patients. Traumatic brain injury was the most common diagnosis. Nursing requirements were similar between the 2 groups and included tracheostomy care, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube care, peripherally inserted central catheter line care, care of patients with no bone flap, and log-rolling. The outcomes of the 2 groups were comparable and included bedsore development/worsening of grade, Glasgow Outcomes Scale score at follow-up, time to decannulation, and 30-day mortality.Conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference in outcomes of patients nursed by family members compared with the patients looked after by professional nurses

With Whom You Compare Yourself – Relationship of Social Comparison & Employee Work Outcomes - Leader Member Exchange (LMX) as Mediator

Purpose: This research contributes further into investigating the impact of Social Comparison (i.e. Negative Social Comparison (NSC) and Positive Social Comparison (PSC) and work attitudes (i.e. Overall Job Satisfaction- OJS and Affective Commitment – AC using Leader Member Exchange (LMX) as a potential mediator among the relationship of Social Comparison and work attitudes. Design / Methodology / Approach: This research is causal, descriptive and cross sectional in nature. Following positivist research paradigm data was collected from 232 employees of First tier commercial banks using a self-administrative survey. Factor Analysis, Multiple Regression Analysis, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation and Descriptive statistics were used to test the hypothesis of the study and provide conclusion about hypothesis. The mediation effects of Leader member exchange was also tested using the steps of Baron and Kenny (1986). Findings: The results exhibited that the Positive Social Comparison has positive association with Affective Commitment (AC) and overall job satisfaction (OJS). Further, NSC relationship was negatively significant with Affective Commitment and also it was found to have a significant negative relationship with Overall Job Satisfaction. LMX, Leader Member Exchange mediates the relationship among Social Comparison Negative and Positive Social Comparison. Originality/Value: These significant results have shown the importance of quality of Leader Member Exchange and its impact in yielding the positive organizational outcomes. As long as the managers pay a good attention towards the quality of relationship among them and their workers, the chances are that any type of comparison (Negative or Positive) will have less chance to affect the organizational outcomes, such as affective commitment and overall job satisfaction. These results are vital for HR practitioners and will assist in designing quality HPWPs in organizations