Emerging Issues: Shifting Focus From Deportation of Unaccompanied Minors to Investing in Long-Term Reintegration Process

Erminia’s shoes fell apart as she walked through the Texas desert, but Erminia persisted with the treacherous journey wearing just her socks. She crossed the desert for three days and two nights. She recounts that there were many thorns along the desert. Unfortunately, Ermina’s journey is similar to thousands of other unaccompanied minors who make the dangerous trek through the desert to find security within the borders of the U.S. Majority of the unaccompanied minors travel from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras— commonly referred to as the “Northern Triangle.” From 2012 through 2016, the primary reason for the surge of unaccompanied minors in the U.S. was “from the interrelated challenges of organized criminal violence and poverty that adversely affect individuals in Northern Triangle countries.

Emerging Issues: Shifting Focus From Deportation of Unaccompanied Minors to Investing in Long-Term Reintegration Process

Erminia’s shoes fell apart as she walked through the Texas desert, but Erminia persisted with the treacherous journey wearing just her socks. She crossed the desert for three days and two nights. She recounts that there were many thorns along the desert. Unfortunately, Ermina’s journey is similar to thousands of other unaccompanied minors who make the dangerous trek through the desert to find security within the borders of the U.S. Majority of the unaccompanied minors travel from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras— commonly referred to as the “Northern Triangle.” From 2012 through 2016, the primary reason for the surge of unaccompanied minors in the U.S. was “from the interrelated challenges of organized criminal violence and poverty that adversely affect individuals in Northern Triangle countries.

Screening of the LAMB2, WT1, NPHS1, and NPHS2 Genes in Pediatric Nephrotic Syndrome

Mutations in the NPHS1, NPHS2, LAMB2, and the WT1 genes are responsible for causing nephrotic syndrome (NS) in two third of the early onset cases. This study was carried out to assess the frequencies of mutations in these genes in a cohort of pediatric NS patients. A total of 64 pediatric familial or sporadic SRNS cases were recruited. Among these, 74% had a disease onset of up to 3 years of age. We found one homozygous frameshift mutation in the NPHS1 gene in one CNS case and two homozygous mutations in the NPHS2 gene. Six mutations in four cases in the LAMB2 gene were also identified. No mutation was detected in the WT1 gene in isolated SRNS cases. LAMB2 gene missense mutations were segregating in NS cases with no extra-renal abnormalities. Analysis of the population genomic data (1000 genome and gnomAD databases) for the prevalence estimation revealed that NS is more prevalent than previously determined from clinical cohorts especially in Asian population compared with overall world populations (prevalence worldwide was 1in 189036 and in South-Asian was 1in 56689). Our results reiterated a low prevalence of mutations in the NPHS1, NPHS2, LAMB2, and WT1 genes in the studied population from Pakistan as compared to some European population that showed a high prevalence of mutations in these genes. This is a comprehensive screening of the genes causing early onset NS in sporadic and familial NS cases suggesting a more systematic and robust approach for mutation identification in all the 45 disease-causing genes in NS in our population is required

Multi-dimensional Nitric Oxide Emissions Predictor for Preliminary Gas Turbine Combustor Design Optimization

This thesis pertains to development of preliminary combustor design tools for prediction of NOx emissions from aircraft gas turbine combustors. These tools are developed in the form of chemical reactor models and their objective is to predict the formation of NOx based on combustor geometry and engine input parameters such as inlet pressure, inlet temperature, fuel flow and air flow. The construction of the reactor networks follow from cold flow computational fluid dynamics results as it provides a way for allocating volumes to each reactor in the network. The ability of the model to predict NOx has been analysed by comparing predictions with measured data and theoretical trends. The model predictions for different combustors satisfy theoretical trends across various thrust levels in that the model correctly captures the effect of various input parameters on NOx formation and predicts most power conditions for various combustors within 15% of the measured value.MAS

Vitamin A deficiency, a potential threat to sight in transplant recipients

Vitamin A (Vit A or Retinol) is an essential nutrient for proper human body functioning including embryogenesis, vision, cell proliferation and differentiation, immune regulation, and glucose and lipid metabolism. It is mainly acquired through diet rich in Retinol or Retinyl esters; or its precursors like carotenoids, Provitamin A, and beta carotene.1,2 Continue..

Clinical and Pathological Findings of Renal Biopsy in Children: Outcomes from a Single Center Over 27 Years

Purpose To classify the results of renal biopsy in pediatric patients and to compare pathological findings with clinical features. Methods This study included data of 318 children who underwent renal biopsy at our hospital between December 1987 and November 2014. Biopsy specimens were examined histopathologically using light, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy. Results Asymptomatic urinary abnormalities was the most common clinical diagnosis (35.9%), followed by nephrotic syndrome (29.3%), and acute glomerulonephritis (18.0%). Glomerular disease was identified in 98.1% of the renal biopsy specimens. The most common primary cause of glomerulonephritis was IgA nephropathy, with gross hematuria in 61.9% of the patients, hypertension in 14.2%, proteinuria >1.0 gm/24-hr in 33.3%, and impaired renal function in 3.6% patients. Conclusion The most common clinical diagnosis was asymptomatic urinary abnormalities, with primary glomerular disease being the most common renal biopsy finding, and IgA nephropathy the most common histopathological lesion. This study provides a 27-year overview of pediatric renal disease at our center and underlines the importance of renal biopsy for accurate diagnosis and proper management