Renal artery Doppler in fetal sonography: A narrative review

Doppler imaging is a non-invasive method in evaluating fetal circulation. Renal artery doppler (RAD) has been used for assessing fetal well-being in several studies. The aim of this narrative review was to accumulate and classify current evidence on RAD in fetal sonography. Articles until November 2022 were searched. After removing ineligible articles, 51 studies were included. Present articles were about RAD assessment in cases with amniotic fluid level changes, fetal growth restriction, fetal renal diseases, monochorionic twin pregnancies, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes mellitus. The complex physiology of fetal kidney function may explain different results observed in different studies about the role of RAD in fetal assessment. It seems this factor can be useful in assessing some groups like diabetic pregnant women, and it should be used accompanying other related factors like kidney size. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of RAD in clinical management. Key words: Fetus, Fertilization in vitro, Prenatal ultrasonography, Thymu

Mapping the Spatial Deprivation of Pakistan

Geographical targeting may be a viable way to allocate resources for poverty alleviation in developing countries. Efficiency can be increased, and leakages to the nonpoor reduced substantially, by targeting needy areas. A national and regional database of substantial poverty maps or deprivation indices are not readily available in Pakistan. Further, existing activities of poverty alleviation are carried out on ad hoc basis in the absence of identified pockets of poverty. This paper presents indices of multiple deprivations based on the 1998 Population and Housing Census data. Possible applications of this exercise include identifying areas of need, making decisions on regional and sectoral priorities, facilitating targeted public interventions through special poverty alleviation programmes, understanding the relationship between poverty and its causes, and helping federal and provincial governments in determining financial awards.

Analysis and classification of EEG signals using mixture of features and committee neural network

Electroencephalography signal is the recording of electrical activity of brain, provides valuable information of the brain function and neurological disorder. this paper proposed committee neural network for classification of EEG signals. Committee neural network consists of different neural network that used multilayer perceptron back propagation algorithm. The number of input node and hidden node selection for artificial neural network remains an important issues, as over parametrized ANN gets trapped in local minima resulting non convergence of ANN structure during training. Redundant features and excessive hidden nodes of ANN increases modeling complexity without improving discrimination performance. Therefore optimum design of neural network which intern optimizes the committee neural network is required towards real time detection of EEG signals. The present work attempts to: (i) develop feature extraction algorithm which combines the score generated from autoregressive based feature and wavelet based feature for better classification of EEG signals, (ii) a two-level committee neural network is proposed based on the decision of several neural networks, (iii) select a set of input features that are effective for identification of EEG signal using genetic algorithm, (iv) make certain optimum selection of nodes in the hidden layer using genetic algorithm for each ANN structure of two-level CNN to get effective classification of EEG signal. It is observed that the performance of proposed technique is better than the earlier established techniques (combined neural network based model and wavelet/ mixture of experts network based approach) and the technique that uses artificial neural network with back propagation multilayer perceptro

The correlation between the cerebroplacental ratio and fetal arterial blood gas in appropriate-for-gestational-age fetuses: A cross-sectional study

Background: The cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) is an important index for predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes in small-for-gestational-age and appropriate-forgestational-age fetuses. Objective: To find out whether there is an association between the CPR level and the blood cord gases analysis in appropriate for gestational age fetuses. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 347 pregnant women at the gestational age of 37-40 wk. Patients had an appropriate-for-gestational-age fetus confirmed from their first ultrasonography results. Participants were divided into two groups based on their CPR, measured before delivery. Finally, after delivery, arterial blood gas level and the incidence of emergency cesarean section, intrapartum fetal distress and neonatal intensive care unit admissions were compared between the two groups. Results: Fifty-four (15.6%) cases had a CPR below the detection limit of the assay. The incidence of fetal distress, emergency cesarean section, neonatal hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit, and pH < 7.2 were significantly lower in women with CPR ≥ 0.67 multiples than in women with a CPR < 0.67 multiples of the median. Conclusion: The third-trimester CPR is an independent predictor of stillbirth and perinatal mortality and morbidity. The role of UA/MCA Doppler and the CPR in assessing the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes should be evaluated prospectively. Key words: Umbilical cord blood, Color Doppler ultrasonography, Gestational age

Some Differential Identities in Prime Γ-rings

abstract: Let M be a prime Γ-ring and U be a nonzero ideal of M . An additive . In this paper, we investigate the commutativity of prime Γ-ring satisfying certain differential identities

Assessing The River Water Quality of Sungai Masai, Johor by Using Water Quality Index (WQI)

The water quality problem has begun to receive significant attention from society in Malaysia as the water pollution issue has arisen over the years. Thus, determining the status of raw water quality is crucial to ensure the level of raw water quality has met the usable standard. This study aimed to identify the land activities near the Sungai Masai, Johor. Then, determine the water quality parameter of Sungai Masai, Johor and classify it according to the Water Quality Index (WQI) Malaysia. Complete characterization and classification of the water quality were compared with the standard from the Department of Environment (DOE) for Sungai Masai and were determined by conducting an experiment. Results show that water quality under three different types of land activities around Sungai Masai can be classified as Slightly Polluted or Class III, with WQI values ranging from 59.34 to 74.47. It can be concluded that the surrounding area around Sungai Masai has led this river to be highly contaminated. However, water from Sungai Masai can be used as drinking water, but it requires further treatment before consumption. The water was suitable only for fishery activities and agricultural irrigation if untreated. To improve the quality of research, the parameter for heavy metals should be conducted in the Industrial area to determine whether industrial waste may end up accumulating in the soil and sediment of water bodies or not &nbsp

Assessing the Perception of Academicians about Organizational and Personal Aspects of Job Stress and Performance: A Qualitative Study

Performance of academicians negatively associated with job stress and many other factors most obvious are institutional and personal characteristics of academia. Academia performs assigned tasks within their position and expected roles at universities. Qualitative research study was conducted to assess the perception of academicians about organizational and personal aspects. A purposive sample of 60 participants as academia heads and academia (teachers) from eight public sector universities were targeted. Semi-structured face to face and telephonic interviews were conducted by using interview guide/checklist with open statements for getting different perception and working experience of academia heads as (Deans, Department Heads, InCharge), and of academia (teachers). Data were recorded in the form of mobile recorder and written notes. Transcripts were written and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data for important themes relevant to research objectives. Results of research shows that academia heads assign different tasks to academia, sometime oppose the interest of academia, may create stressful situation. Academia heads have diverse responsibilities to take part in different activities to obtain institutional goals, based on their domain, also face some stress. It was suggested that academia heads must assign work according to academia interest; knowledge and domain, also need to take investigate reasons of disappointment among academia. Work overload and autonomy need urgent concentration

The Rise of the Social Business in Emerging Economies: A New Paradigm of Development

Social business has emerged as a sustainable and innovative means to solve emerging social problems. Although it is gaining momentum, there is a paucity of studies on the drivers of social business models and its key success factors. Drawing on a systematic literature review and an in-depth analysis of 31 social businesses in Bangladesh, the study presents eight key drivers and four success factors for a sustainable social business model. The findings show eight key drivers for social business models including customer centricity, quality, social needs, latent demands, incidental gains, innovation through partnerships, inspirations from initiatives and collaborative eco-systems. The findings also report four critical success factors including social goals, collaboration, simplicity and start from home. Overall, this study discusses the scope of developing and sustaining social business models for empowerment, quality of life and economic growth in emerging economies