A Suggestive Diagnostic Technique For Early Identification Of Acyanotic Heart Disorders From Infant’s Cry

Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) are the critical heart disorders that can be observed at the birth stage of the infants. These are classified mainly into two, Cyanotic and Acyanotic. The present paper concentrates on the Acyanotic heart disorders. Acyanotic heart disorder cannot be observed on external checkup, whereas bluish skin is the indication for the infant affected with Cyanotic disorder. Acyanotic heart disorder can only be diagnosed using chest X-Ray, ECG, Echocardiogram, Cardiac Catheterization and MRI of the Heart. The present work aims at estimating the fundamental frequency (pitch) and the vocal tract resonant frequencies (formants) from the cry signal of the infants. The pitch frequency and formant frequencies are estimated using frequency domain (Cepstrum) and Linear Prediction Code (LPC) methods. The results show that the fundamental frequency of the cry signal was between 600Hz-800Hz for the infants with Acyanotic heart disorders. This fundamental frequency helps in identifying Acyanotic heart disorders at an early stage

Evaluation of the eTulip POU unit at a rural village in the Eastern Cape

In an effort to gain a better understanding of the factors leading to the successful uptake of point-of-use water treatment units, a twelve-month study was undertaken in a remote rural community in the Eastern Cape in South Africa by a research team from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Durban University of Technology. The eTulip ceramic siphon candle filter was distributed to 22 participating households. The filter was effective in providing 30-40 litres of filtered water per day of adequate water quality. 64% of the users used and maintained their filters on a daily basis. Participants liked the taste of the filtered water and reported decreased rates of diarrhoea, stomach pains and skin rashes in both children and adults

A Systematic Review of Magnesium Sulfate for Perinatal Neuroprotection: What Have We Learnt From the Past Decade?

There is an important unmet need to improve long term outcomes of encephalopathy for preterm and term infants. Meta-analyses of large controlled trials suggest that maternal treatment with magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) is associated with a reduced risk of cerebral palsy and gross motor dysfunction after premature birth. However, to date, follow up to school age has found an apparent lack of long-term clinical benefit. Because of this inconsistency, it remains controversial whether MgSO4 offers sustained neuroprotection. We systematically reviewed preclinical and clinical studies reported from January 1 2010, to January 31 2020 to evaluate the most recent advances and knowledge gaps relating to the efficacy of MgSO4 for the treatment of perinatal brain injury. The outcomes of MgSO4 in preterm and term-equivalent animal models of perinatal encephalopathy were highly inconsistent between studies. None of the perinatal rodent studies that suggested benefit directly controlled body or brain temperature. The majority of the studies did not control for sex, study long term histological and functional outcomes or use pragmatic treatment regimens and many did not report controlling for potential study bias. Finally, most of the recent preterm or term human studies that tested the potential of MgSO4 for perinatal neuroprotection were relatively underpowered, but nevertheless, suggest that any improvements in neurodevelopment were at best modest or absent. On balance, these data suggest that further rigorous testing in translational preclinical models of perinatal encephalopathy is essential to ensure safety and best regimens for optimal preterm neuroprotection, and before further clinical trials of MgSO4 for perinatal encephalopathy at term are undertaken

Systematic review of infant and young child complementary feeding practices in South Asian families: the Pakistan perspective

OBJECTIVE: Suboptimal nutrition among children remains a problem among South Asian (SA) families. Appropriate complementary feeding (CF) practices can greatly reduce this risk. Thus, we undertook a systematic review of studies assessing CF (timing, dietary diversity, meal frequency and influencing factors) in children aged <2 years in Pakistan. DESIGN: Searches between January 2000 and June 2016 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, Web of Science, OVID Maternity & Infant Care, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, BanglaJOL, POPLINE and WHO Global Health Library. Eligibility criteria: primary research on CF practices in SA children aged 0-2 years and/or their families. Search terms: 'children', 'feeding' and 'Asians' with their derivatives. Two researchers undertook study selection, data extraction and quality appraisal (EPPI-Centre Weight of Evidence). RESULTS: From 45 712 results, seventeen studies were included. Despite adopting the WHO Infant and Young Child Feeding guidelines, suboptimal CF was found in all studies. Nine of fifteen studies assessing timing recorded CF introduced between 6 and 9 months. Five of nine observed dietary diversity across four of seven food groups; and two of four, minimum meal frequency in over 50 % of participants. Influencing factors included lack of CF knowledge, low maternal education, socio-economic status and cultural beliefs. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first systematic review to evaluate CF practices in Pakistan. Campaigns to change health and nutrition behaviour are needed to meet the substantial unmet needs of these children