To compare the efficacy of progesterone between oral versus vaginal routes of administration in the treatment of first trimester threatened miscarriage

Objective: To determine the efficacy of oral versus vaginal progesterone in the treatment of the first trimester threatened miscarriage. Methodology: This randomized controlled trial study was conducted at Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department of Mardan Medical Complex, Mardan from September 2019 to March 2020. A total of 126 women between ages 18-45 years presenting in their first trimester with threatened miscarriage were included. All patients were randomly allocated in two equal groups A and B by lottery method (63 in each group). Patients in group A were given oral progesterone 10 mg bid for one week and group B patients were given vaginal progesterone 400 mg for one week under the supervision of obstetrician. All patients were followed up till 20th week of pregnancy. The efficacy of the drug was evaluated based on the absence of bleeding per vagina and pregnancy proceeding beyond 20 weeks of gestation. Results: A total of 126 women were included. The majority of the patients 64 (50.79%) were between 18 to 30 years of age. The mean age of women in group A was 30.52 ± 4.52 years and in group, B was 30.73 ± 4.23 years. Efficacy of Oral progesterone (group A) was seen in 57 (90.48%) women and of vaginal progesterone (group B) was seen in 46 (73.02%) women. This showed a highly significant difference between the two routes of administration with p-value of 0.01. Conclusion: Oral progesterone is more effective than vaginal progesterone in treating first trimester threatened miscarriage in terms of prevention of blood loss and continuing the pregnancy beyond 20 weeks

Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy and Correlation with HbA1c in Patients Admitted in Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar

Objective: To determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in patients admitted in Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar and to correlate different stages of diabetic retinopathy with HbA1C levels. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted at Department of Ophthalmology, Khyber Teaching Hospital, MTI, Peshawar from December 2019 to May 2020. All patients over the age of 15 years who were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus were included in the study while patients with cataract or retinopathy due to other pathologies were excluded. All diabetic patients were admitted through outpatient department. In the ward their blood pressures were recorded and HbA1c levels were also measured. Visual acuity (VA) was checked. Screening for diabetic retinopathy was done by a consultant ophthalmologist by Optos Ultrawide Field Imaging of retina and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) of macula to establish stages of diabetic retinopathy and presence of diabetic macular edema respectively. Results: A total of 103 diabetic patients were included. Their retina was photographed, viewed and analyzed. Diabetic retinopathy, irrespective of the type, was found in 69 patients with a prevalence of 66.9%. Patients with lower ranges of HbA1c (below 6%) showed no evidence of DR. The clustering of majority of patients with diabetic retinopathy with HbA1c levels of 8 to 12 %, showed a significant relationship between high blood sugar levels and severity. Conclusion: In our study the higher frequency of retinopathy is alarming by considering it one of the leading causes of blindness in working class. It is highly recommended that routine ophthalmologic examination may be carried out along with optimal diabetic control

Empirical Evidence of Export-Led Growth Hypothesis for South Asia

Trade is considered an engine of economic growth (EG). Export-led growth (ELG) hypothesis narrates exports are a critical factor influencing EG. This study aims to test the relationship between exports and EG in South Asian countries using panel data from 1990 to 2020. Additionally, the study investigates whether the GDP growth of the countries acts as a proxy for the countries' development stage to see whether there is a causal relationship between these two macroeconomic variables. The present study has used EG as a dependent variable and exports of South Asian countries as an independent variable, along with fuel import, capital, labor force, and exchange rate. The study applied panel ARDL techniques to test the relationship between export and EG. According to empirical findings, for all South Asian countries, exports have a considerable positive impact on EG, whereas fuel imports have a significant and negative effect

Changing Attitude Towards Women Education, An Outcome of Benefits of Women Education in Rural Area

Female constitute half of country population but still facing problem in almost all sectors of life in the male dominating Pakistani society. The major aim of the present study was to find out the benefits of female education as factor affecting their parent’s attitude towards education. Data for the study were collected from two hundred and fourteen (N=214) respondents belonging to two selected villages of district Bannu. A significant association was found among attitude about female education and by getting education females would become good housewives, good mothers, would be able to get better life partners, would bring up their children in a better way and could help their children in educational and social problems. Furthermore they would have job opportunities, would be socio- economically empowered, would make sensible decisions in important matters and they would be less likely to marry early. On the basis of encouraging findings of the study about expected benefits of female educations it is recommended that government and non-government organizations should keep people aware by highlighting these benefits which will ultimately motivate parents to provide education to their female children

An Experimental Channel Capacity Analysis of Cooperative Networks Using Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP)

Cooperative communication (CC) is one of the best solutions to overcome channel fading and to improve channel capacity. However, most of the researchers evaluate its performance based on mathematical modeling or by simulations. These approaches are often unable to successfully capture many real-world radio signal propagation problems. Hardware based wireless communication test-bed provides reliable and accurate measurements, which are not attainable through other means. This research work investigates experimental performance analysis of CC over direct communication (DC) in the lab environment. The experimental setup is built using Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) and Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW). A text message is transmitted by using Phase Shift Keying (PSK) modulation schemes. The setup uses amplify and forward (AF) relaying mode and two time slot transmission protocols. The maximum ratio combining (MRC) technique is used for combining SNR at the receiver. Channel capacity analysis is performed in order to evaluate the performance of CC over DC with and without obstacle. Moreover, optimal position of the relay is also analyzed by varying the position of the relay. Extensive experiments are carried out in the lab environment to evaluate the performance of the system for different hardware setups. The results reveal that cooperative communication attains significant improvement in terms of channel capacity of the system

Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties of Harpeen Against Selected Bacterial Pathogens

The occurrence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a serious threat to global health. The dried form of whey is called Harpeen and has antibacterial properties. In this study, the antibacterial properties of Harpeen were evaluated against pathogenic bacterial strains including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Proteus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus, Salmonella typhi, Enterobacter, Bacillus subtilis via agar-well diffusion method. Harpeen exhibited significantly higher antibacterial activity against Proteus and Klebsiella pneumoniae in comparison to other selected bacterial strains. This natural product can be utilized as a potent antimicrobial agent

Network coding for hybrid satellite-terrestrial networks over non-identical fading channels

Satellite communication technology can well address for global communication system concern along imperative features. Network coding techniques are implicit for future wireless communication network demands in terms of throughput, security and robustness. Physical layer network coding (PNC) and Analog network Coding (ANC), are considered as two of the most studied variants of the network coding. Analysis revealed that similar performance augmentation can be made in satellite terrestrial networks with highly unpredictable behavior. In this paper feasibility study focuses on a comparative analysis amongst PNC and ANC in terrestrial land mobile satellite (LMS) networks in standings of their respective SER and outage probabilities

Incidence of multidrug resistance and extended spectrum beta-lactamase expression in community-acquired urinary tract infection among different age groups of patients

Background and Aim: Escherichia coli was the most prevalent cause for urinary tract infections (UTIs). These bacteria also generate extended spectrum b-lactamases (ESBL), which inactivate penicillins and cephalosporins. The purpose of the current study is to determine the incidence of multidrug resistance and extended beta-lactamase expression in community-acquired urinary tract infection (UTIs) among patients of different age groups. Patients and Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 186 uropathogens investigated in the diagnostic center of Tertiary Care Hospital Peshawar from January 2022 to December 2022. Patients of either gender or any age with suspected UTIs associated with K. pneumoniae and E. coli were derived from urine specimen were enrolled. Identification and analysis of antimicrobial susceptibility was done using Disc diffusion method and Double Disc synergy test. SPSS version 27 was used for data analysis. Results: Of the total 186 Gram-negative uropathogens, there were 57 (30.6%) male and 129 (59.4%) female. The incidence of E. coli and K. pneumoniae was 138 (74.2%) and 48 (25.8%) respectively. The prevalence of uropathogens identified was in 71% females and 29% males.&nbsp

Veins Depth Estimation Using Diffused Reflectance Parameter

In order to perform the standard Intravenous (IV) catheterization, subcutaneous veins must be localized. It is a difficult task, especially in the cases when veins are hard to localize. The factors which affect the veins localization process are the physiological characteristics of patients, mainly darker skin tone, scars, hair, dehydration and low blood pressure. With the help of Near Infrared imaging, subcutaneous veins can be envisioned. This is due to the higher absorption of NIR light energy by Hemoglobin (Hb) found in the veins. Besides a superficial view, the veins depth information is also important in order to avoid their rupture by piercing through the walls during IV catheterization process. Diffused reflectance, measured with a camera sensor, can be used for the depth estimation of blood vessels. In this paper, a method to measure the depth of veins using diffused reflectance parameter, is presented. The well-known Monte Carlo model of light propagation in human tissues is used for the mathematical representation. A four-layered skin model is presented with varying vessel depths to describe the diffused reflectance of light while propagating inside skin tissues. The results are validated with Monte Carlo simulations for light propagation in layered medium. A sensitivity analysis of proposed method is also performed with a 5% alteration in the optical parameters of skin due to the change in operating conditions. The results showed a marginal error of maximum value 6.23% in vessel depth estimation using the standard optical parameters, 1.6% for −5% and 10.74% for +5% change in optical parameters

Molecular Characterization of Diverse Wheat Genetic Resources for Resistance to Yellow Rust Pathogen (<i>Puccinia striiformis</i>)

Yellow rust (YR) epidemics have affected wheat productivity worldwide. YR resistance (Yr) is eminent in wheat; however, it is continuously invaded by evolving YR pathogen Puccinia striiformis (Pst.). Understanding the Yr genes’ diversity among the available germplasm is paramount to developing YR-resistant cultivars. In this study, 14 wheat genotypes were screened for their relative resistance index (RRI) and Yr genes/QTL via linked microsatellite markers. RRI screening categorized the studied genotypes into susceptible (7; 8.45 ± 0.25) bulks (p Pst. races that triggered Yr26, Yr5, and Yr15 busts in recent past. This study further implies that pyramiding all stage resistance genes (Yr5, Yr10, Yr15, and Yr26) with adult plant resistance genes (Yr18 and Yr62) should provide sustained YR resistance. The associated alleles at Yr genes-linked markers provide a basis for marker-assisted YR resistance breeding in wheat