Prevention of neural tube defects By folic acid in pregnancy.

Pakistan is a developing country facing variety of challenges including maternal malnutrition and neonatal mortality. Globally Pakistan has the third highest neonatal mortality rate(1). Maternal malnutrition contributes to low birth weight neonates and birth anomalies. A study conducted in tertiary care hospital of Karachi catering to lower socioeconomic background showed 10.9% of birth defects to be of central nervous system. Maternal factor related to neural tube defects in same study showed 81.3 % mothers had not taken folic acid during pregnancy

The Conceptual Perspective of the Subjective Norms Determinant of the Investors Decision-Making Behavior

Investors decision-making Behaviour defined as how the investors judge, predict, analyses and review the procedures for decision making, which includes investment psychology, information gathering, defining and understanding, research and analysis. In Investors Decision-making Behaviour, the Subjective Norms plays a crucial effect. Misunderstood personal characteristics within Investors Decision-making Behaviour may generate unrealistic or inaccurate outcomes. Unfortunately, the effect of personal context is nearly ignored in c literature. this paper argues on the interaction between the influence of Subjective Norms, so as to explain Investors Decision-making Behaviour. This proposition could improve understanding the Investors Decision-making Behaviour and help to resolve inconsistency of findings in the literature.Keywords: Investors decision-making Behaviour; Subjective Norms; Palestine stock market

Financial Literacy and Behavioral Finance: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues

financial literacy, defined as knowledge and numeracy, Investors decision-making Behaviour defined as how the investors judge, predict, analyses and review the procedures for decision making, which includes investment psychology, information gathering, defining and understanding, research and analysis. In Investors Decision-making Behaviour, the financial literacy plays a crucial effect. Misunderstood personal characteristics within Investors Decision-making Behaviour may generate unrealistic or inaccurate outcomes. Unfortunately, the effect of personal context is nearly ignored in c literature. this paper argues on the interaction between the influence of financial literacy, so as to explain Investors Decision-making Behaviour. This proposition could improve understanding the Investors Decision-making Behaviour and help to resolve inconsistency of findings in the literature. Keywords: financial literacy; Behavioural Finance; Investors decision-making Behaviour; financial literacy; Palestine stock market

The beginnings of ancient Kurdistan (c. 2500-1500 BC) : a historical and cultural synthesis

The dissertation is a history of the early states of the region known nowadays as Kurdistan. The first emergence of these states in the written records of Mesopotamia and its neighbours. The history of the region in the period covered by the dissertation is scarcely known and studied, but the discovery of new inscriptional material and some archaeological finds, made it possible to write this history and study the development of the petty states into a unified empire towards the period covered by this work, i.e. in about 1500 BC.LEI Universiteit LeidenMiddle Eastern Studie

Haemoglobin phenotypes and the risk of asymptomatic malaria parasitemia among blood donors in northwest Nigeria: clinical implications in the practice of tropical transfusion medicine

Background: In malaria-endemic populations, sickle cell trait (SCT) protects against both severe and non-severe malaria, but inconsistencies exist about protective effect of SCT on asymptomatic malarial parasitemia (AMP). Surprisingly, the effect of Hb-phenotypes on AMP has not been explored among blood donors in Nigeria or other malaria-endemic countries, where risks of AMP and transfusion transmitted malaria (TTM) are high. The objective of this study is to determine risk of AMP with respect to donor Hb-phenotypes (SCT versus HbAA), and elucidate clinical implications of AMP with respect to risk of TTM vis-à-vis the practice of transfusion medicine in Nigeria, and by implication other malaria-endemic tropical countries.Methodology: Analysis of 100 blood donors with AMP (cases) and 100 donors without AMP (controls) was performed. Frequencies of SCT and HbAA (determined by Hb electrophoresis) among cases and controls were compared by X2 -test. Risks of AMP (detected by microscopy) with respect to Hb-phenotypes were expressed as Odds ratios (OR) by case-control logistic regression.Results: In comparison with blood donor without AMP (controls), donors with AMP had lower frequencies of SCT (12% vs 28%, p<0.05) with corresponding higher frequencies of HbAA (88% vs 72%, p<0.05). HbAA is associated with high risk of AMP (OR=2.91, 95%CI: 2.10-3.48, p=0.021), while SCT is associated low risk of AMP (OR=0.49, 95%CI: 0.27-0.73, p=0.032).Conclusion: This finding shows that donor SCT is a surreptitious mitigator of the risk of AMP and TTM in the tropics. Therefore, patients who are selectively transfused with HbAA blood (e. g. neonates and sickle cell disease patients) could be at greater risks of TTM, and such patients need closer post transfusion monitoring. The risk of TTM calls for diligent post transfusion haemovigilance in Nigeria and other malaria endemic tropical countries in Africa Keywords: blood donors, sickle cell trait, asymptomatic malaria parasitemia, transfusion transmitted malari

Increased left atrial stiffness in patients with atrial fibrillation detected by left atrial speckle tracking echocardiography

AbstractObjectiveThis study was designed to determine the contribution of left atrial (LA) stiffness to atrial fibrillation (AF) progression by comparing AF patients with normal control subjects, and to evaluate whether LA mechanical function is related to the structural changes of LA.BackgroundAbnormalities in the LA structure and function usually develop in patients with AF.Patients and methodsTwenty paroxysmal and 20 persistent AF patients, were included and studied, using standard, tissue Doppler and speckle tracking echocardiography, and were compared with 20 matched controls. LA maximal volume, mitral annular velocities, and global longitudinal LA strain were measured. The ratio of E/e′ to LA strain was used as an index of LA stiffness.ResultsStudy groups were comparable. Paroxysmal and persistent AF patients showed increased LA maximal volume (24.3±3.2, 20.1±5.2 vs. 18.3±1.6, p<0.001) and LV filling pressure (E/e′=9.5±1.1, 7.9±1.2 vs. 6.8±1.1, p<0.001), but decreased mitral annular velocities and LA strain (18.1±2.8, 21.5±4.3 vs. 25.9±2.9, p<0.001). LA stiffness was increased in patients with persistent and paroxysmal AF than in the control subjects (0.55±0.12, 0.36±0.09 vs. 0.26±0.02, p<0.001), and was related with LA diameter and LV filling pressure.ConclusionsPatients with AF have increased LA stiffness in comparison with that of the control subjects and it is higher in persistent than paroxysmal AF. LA volume and LV filling pressure are independent predictors of LA stiffness

Small-scale piped water supply: end-user inclusive water research in arsenic affected areas in India and Bangladesh (DELTAP)

DELTAP is s multi-disciplinary research project, where geologists, water treatment scientists and industrial design engineers join forces to develop an integrated approach towards small-scale piped water supply (SPWS) systems in the arsenic-affected Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta. The project has started in 2016 with a field study in Bihar (India) with a focus on water quality mapping with mobile crowd participation. The coming years the research will continue with 3 PhD candidates, both in India and Bangladesh, with the ultimate aim to develop blueprints for end-user inclusive SPWS systems

Estimation of Optimum Number of Poles for Random Signal by Yule-Walker Method

The Yule-Walker method is an effective method to estimate the system response or spectrum for random signal. Hence most of the noise and spurious signals are random in nature, so it is very convenient to estimate their spectrum by Yule-Walker method successfully. The Yule-Walker method is an autoregressive process to estimate the poles and errors also based on the number of poles for Wide Sense Stationary (WSS) process as well. Moreover the value of zero will be correspondingly calculated based on the poles in case of all poles model. The main concern of this paper is to analyze the Yule-Walker method and estimate the poles and zero along with the error based on the number of poles for a random signal. Moreover analyze the results to find out the optimum number of poles for least possible error

Targeting Low-arsenic Groundwater with Mobile-phone Technology in Araihazar, Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation and Water Supply Program (BAMWSP) has compiled field-kit measurements of the arsenic content of groundwater for nearly five million wells. By comparing the spatial distribution of arsenic inferred from these field-kit measurements with geo-referenced laboratory data in a portion of Araihazar upazila, it is shown here that the BAMWSP data could be used for targeting safe aquifers for the installation of community wells in many villages of Bangladesh. Recent experiences with mobile-phone technology to access and update the BAMWSP data in the field are also described. It is shown that the technology, without guaranteeing success, could optimize interventions by guiding the choice of the drilling method that is likely to reach a safe aquifer and identifying those villages where exploratory drilling is needed

Ethnic Association in Primary Systemic Vasculitis: A Systematic Review

Background: Literature described wide disparities in incidence and prevalence between different types of vasculitis. There were no comprehensive studies on ethnic or racial associations in all types of primary systemic vasculitis (PSV) in any published article, until this review commenced in 2020. The purpose of the review is to synthesize the evidence regarding the relation of ethnicity and the incidence and/or prevalence of different types of PSV. Methods: A total of 52 selected articles which include Clinical trials, cohorts, cross-sectional studies, case series, and case studies and have been published within the last 10 years in the human population, were reviewed by searching The Medline, PubMed, and Google Scholars databases using predefined keywords. The PRISMA diagrams were followed to identify relevant articles. The methodological qualities of the studies were assessed using the EPHPP tool. Finally, a summary of the evidence on the association between ethnic origin and PSV was painstakingly compiled. Results: The connection between ethnicity and different types of PSV has been found to be significantly diverse in this research such as vasculitis is more common in Asians and Scandinavians, Kawasaki disease and periarteritis nodules are more prevalent in Japanese and Alaska-natives, ANCA-associated vasculitis is more frequent in Caucasians, whereas Henoch-Schonlein purpura and Cogan syndrome more usual in Caucasians and Asians. Furthermore, Behçet's disease more commonly occurs on the "Silk Road", especially in Turkey. Conclusion: Genetic susceptibility and environmental elements could be the contributing factors to the global variation in the incidence and prevalence of primary systemic vasculitis