Risk Factors of Diarrhoea in Malnourished Children Under Age of 5 Years

Background: Acute infectious enteritis remains one of the commonest causes of death among infants and children in developing countries. Acute enteritis is defined as a loss of stool consistency with pasty or liquid stools, and/or an increase in stool frequency to more than three stools in 24 hours with or without fever or vomiting. Human survival depends on the secretion and reabsorption of fluid and electrolytes in the intestinal tract. The objective of the study is to evaluate the risk factors of diarrhoea in children under age of 5 years. Methodology: It was an observational study. Study was completed in about six months. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used. In this study, 270 samples were taken from Diarrheal ward of The Children Hospital Lahore, Pakistan. Results: In this study, out of 270 patients, 58.52% were males and 41.48% were females. 90.37% patients were vaccinated. 54.81% had weaning history. 91.85% patients had feeding history. 29.26% had blood in stool. 96.67% patients were dehydrated. 95.56% patients had loose watery diarrhoea. 62.96% patients used boiled water. 58.52% patients consumed less than half litre of water, 30.00% patients consumed 1 litre of water and 11.48% patients consumed > 1 litre of water. 49.18% patients had proper hygiene. 38.15% mothers of patients were well educated. 40.37% patients had model household condition. 57.41% patients lived in rural area and 42.59% patients lived in urban area. Conclusion: The variation in the level of diarrheal morbidity was well explained by maternal education, income, personal hygiene, refuse disposal system and the effect of health extension programme

Application of data science for controlling energy crises: A case study of Pakistan

© 2019 Association for Computing Machinery. Today Pakistan is facing numerous challenges for the interconnection of local energy resources and for balanced energy policies. Data Science, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IoT and Cloud computing draws our focus towards controlling energy crises in terms of smart energy generation, consumption and to overcome causes of energy crises. To make a conclusion valuable we have to extract significant value from a large amount of data that‟s why data management plays a significant role. This Paper presents a review of energy sectors, energy resources, energy crises in Pakistan. It also presents the possible solution of energy crises with the help of data science application and the involvement of Big Data, Cloud computing, IoT and AI

Frequency of Clinical Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Asthmatic Patients

Background: Gastroesophageal reflex is known as an acid reflex, is long term condition where stomach contents back into the oesophagus resulting in either symptoms or complications. GERD disease is caused by weakness or failure of the lower oesophageal sphincter. Symptoms include the acidic taste behind the mouth, heart burn, chest pain, difficult breathing and vomiting. Complication includes esophagitis, oesophageal strictures and barrettes oesophagus. Objective: The aim of this research was to introduce the symptoms of GERD disease in asthmatic patients and how these symptoms worsen the symptoms of asthma disease and what clinical pictures present with the asthmatic disease. Methodology: A designed performa was used to collect the data and after filling the performa, results were drawn and conclusion through the facts and the information given by patients. Results: In the present study among all 164 asthmatic patients, 70 (42.7%) patients showed dyspepsia, 58 (35.4%) were with chest burning, 23 (14%) were asking about chest pain, with acidic mouth taste were 39 (23.8%), 22 (13.4%) were feeling sore throat and 44 (26.8%) showed regurgitation reflex. Among these 164 patients 16 (9.8%) were smokers and 148 (90.2 %) were non-smokers. 47 (28.7%) were males and 117 (71.3%) were females. Conclusion: It is concluded that gastroesophageal reflux disease in asthmatic patients present symptoms of acidic mouth taste, chest burning, chest pain, dyspepsia, regurgitation reflex and sore throat

Parallelisation of a cache-based stream-relation join for a near-real-time data warehouse

Near real-time data warehousing is an important area of research, as business organisations want to analyse their businesses sales with minimal latency. Therefore, sales data generated by data sources need to reflect immediately in the data warehouse. This requires near-real-time transformation of the stream of sales data with a disk-based relation called master data in the staging area. For this purpose, a stream-relation join is required. The main problem in stream-relation joins is the different nature of inputs; stream data is fast and bursty, whereas the disk-based relation is slow due to high disk I/O cost. To resolve this problem, a famous algorithm CACHEJOIN (cache join) was published in the literature. The algorithm has two phases, the disk-probing phase and the stream-probing phase. These two phases execute sequentially; that means stream tuples wait unnecessarily due to the sequential execution of both phases. This limits the algorithm to exploiting CPU resources optimally. In this paper, we address this issue by presenting a robust algorithm called PCSRJ (parallelised cache-based stream relation join). The new algorithm enables the execution of both disk-probing and stream-probing phases of CACHEJOIN in parallel. The algorithm distributes the disk-based relation on two separate nodes and enables parallel execution of CACHEJOIN on each node. The algorithm also implements a strategy of splitting the stream data on each node depending on the relevant part of the relation. We developed a cost model for PCSRJ and validated it empirically. We compared the service rates of both algorithms using a synthetic dataset. Our experiments showed that PCSRJ significantly outperforms CACHEJOIN

Wind farms selection using geospatial technologies and energy generation capacity in Gwadar

Pakistan has been a victim of energy crisis since last few decades. This energy crisis has adversely affected country’s socio-economic development and continues to do so. The continuously increasing demand–supply gap has negatively impacted the economic stability of the country. With the recent awareness and development of alternate energy resources like wind and solar, the current energy crisis can be minimized. However, proper planning is essential for successful execution of these renewable energy projects. This study aims to identify the suitable sites for wind farms in District Gwadar, Balochistan using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Web-based Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS). In this study, multi-criteria decision making is applied which assists breaking down the site selection complexity. Multi-Criteria evaluation methods provides different set of procedures that facilitate decision making by analyzing different alternatives. The underlying geospatial and ICT technologies used in this analysis form the core component of the planning process. Gwadar is currently drawing investor’s attention due to its geographical location, deep seaport, and proposed China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This research is useful for stakeholders of Wind Energy to explore the wind potentials using GIS as an interactive decision-making tool during the pre-feasibility stage.Furthermore, this research has considered the environmental, social and economic aspects during the decision-making process of wind farm development. This is the strength of multi-criteria evaluation as differently weighted scenarios provide different output, depending on the factors considered of highest importance. A detailed analysis of the sites in terms of their wind potential and energy generation capacity has also been reported in this study. This long coastline of Balochistan with huge wind energy potential has not been explored yet and therefore this study will assist researchers to further explore this area and can have a positive impact on CPEC.Qatar University Internal Grant No. IRCC- 2021-010

New insights into Se/BiVO4 heterostructure for photoelectrochemical water splitting: a combined experimental and DFT study

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Monoclinic clinobisvanite BiVO4 is one of the most promising materials in the field of solar water splitting due to its band gap and suitable VBM position. We have carried out a comprehensive experimental and periodic density functional theory (DFT) simulations of BiVO4 heterojunction with Selenium (Se/BiVO4), to understand the nature of heterojunction. We have also investigated contribution of Se to higher performance by effecting morphology, light absorption and charge transfer properties in heterojunction. Electronic properties simulations of BiVO4 shows that its VBM and CBM are comprised of O 2p and V 3d orbitals, respectively. The Se/BiVO4 heterojunction has boosted the photocurrent density by three fold from 0.7 to 2.2 mAcm-2 at 1.3 V vs. SCE. The electrochemical impedance and Mott-Schottky analysis consequence favorable charge transfer characteristics which account for the higher performance in Se/BiVO4 compared to the BiVO4 and Se. Finally, spectroscopic, photoelectrochemical and DFT evident that Se makes a direct Z-scheme (band alignments) with BiVO4 where the photoexcited electron of BiVO4 recombine with the VB of Se, consequences electron-hole separation at Se and BiVO4, respectively as a result enhanced photocurrent is obtained.The authors would like to thank the National University of Malaysia for the financial support from grants GUP-2016-089. One of us (H.U) acknowledges the NOTUR supercomputing facilities within the project nn4608

Metasurface-Based Wideband MIMO Antenna for 5G Millimeter-Wave Systems

This paper presents a metasurface based multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with a wideband operation for millimeter-wave 5G communication systems. The antenna system consists of four elements placed with a 90 degree shift in order to achieve a compact MIMO system while a 2 x 2 non-uniform metasurface (total four elements) is placed at the back of the MIMO configuration to improve the radiation characteristics of it. The overall size of the MIMO antenna is 24 x 24 mm(2) while the operational bandwidth of the proposed antenna system ranges from 23.5-29.4 GHz. The peak gain achieved by the proposed MIMO antenna is almost 7dB which is further improved up to 10.44 dB by employing a 2 x 2 metasurface. The total efficiency is also observed more than 80% across the operating band. Apart from this, the MIMO performance metrics such as envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), diversity gain (DG), and channel capacity loss (CCL) are analyzed which demonstrate good characteristics. All the simulations of the proposed design are carried out in computer simulation technology (CST) software, and measured results reveal good agreement with the simulated one which make it a potential contender for the upcoming 5G communication systems

Big data velocity management-from stream to warehouse via high performance memory optimized index join

Efficient resource optimization is critical to manage the velocity and volume of real-time streaming data in near-real-time data warehousing and business intelligence. This article presents a memory optimisation algorithm for rapidly joining streaming data with persistent master data in order to reduce data latency. Typically during the transformation phase of ETL (Extraction, Transformation, and Loading) a stream of transactional data needs to be joined with master data stored on disk. To implement this process, a semi-stream join operator is commonly used. Most semi-stream join operators cache frequent parts of the master data to improve their performance, this process requires careful distribution of allocated memory among the components of the join operator. This article presents a cache inequality approach to optimise cache size and memory. To test this approach, we present a novel Memory Optimal Index-based Join (MOIJ) algorithm. MOIJ supports many-to-many types of joins and adapts to dynamic streaming data. We also present a cost model for MOIJ and compare the performance with existing algorithms empirically as well as analytically. We envisage the enhanced ability of processing near-real-time streaming data using minimal memory will reduce latency in processing big data and will contribute to the development of highperformance real-time business intelligence systems

Molybdenum tungsten hydrogen oxide doped with phosphorus for enhanced oxygen/hydrogen evolution reactions

The development of efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) is pivotal for advancing cleaner and sustainable fuel production technologies. The conventional electrocatalysts have limited stability and higher overpotentials, and there is demand to explore advanced materials and synthesis methods. In this context, a novel bifunctional electrocatalyst has been devised through the phosphidation of tungsten molybdenum oxide (P-Mo0.69W0.31H0.98O3) at relatively low temperatures. This innovative approach aims to enhance the efficiency of HER and OER while minimizing the overpotential values and maintaining higher stability. Specifically, the individual performance of Mo0.69W0.31H0.98O3 has been significantly boosted by doping it with phosphorus at a low temperature of 300 °C. This doping process results in a unique morphology for the catalyst, leading to a notable improvement in OER/HER performances. P-Mo0.69W0.31H0.98O3 exhibits a potential of 320 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in a KOH electrolyte, demonstrating both high activity and long-term stability. Additionally, P-Mo0.69W0.31H0.98O3 exhibits commendable HER performance, requiring only 380 mV at 100 mA cm−2. This combination of efficient OER and HER performance positions P-Mo0.69W0.31H0.98O3 as representing a significant advancement in the field of electrocatalysis, additionally addressing the fundamental gap by providing stable and hybrid catalyst for various electrochemical devices. Given its cost-effectiveness and exceptional activity, P-Mo0.69W0.31H0.98O3 holds significant potential for advancing the field of electrocatalysis and contributing to the development of cleaner and sustainable fuel production methods

Association between smoking and anthropometric characteristics, biochemical markers, and dietary intake of Pakistani male adult population

Background/Objectives: A community-based study was conducted to compare the nutritional status between smokers and non-smokers in association with dietary, biochemical and socio- economic characteristics. Methods: A convenient sampling method was used to enroll 100 smokers and 99 non-smokers aged between 46 and 78 years from the urban and semi-urban areas of district Peshawar, Pakistan. Weight, height, waist and hip circumferences of the subjects were taken while body composition was determined by employing a Bodystat Analyzer. A blood sample was taken from each subject for the determination of serum vitamin A and zinc levels. Subjects were interviewed for a 24-hr dietary recall and demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Student’s t-test and bivariate analysis were conducted to compare the mean differences and examine the association between different variables of smoker and non-smoker groups. Results: The results revealed that there was no significant ( p>0.05) difference between the mean age, weight, height and body mass index of smokers and non smokers. However, the mean body fat, waist and hip circumference of the smokers were significantly (p <0.05) lower than the non-smokers. Conversely, the mean serum vitamin A (32.30±15.99 μg/dl) of smokers was significantly (p<0.05) higher than non-smokers (26.50±20.44 μg/dl) but the mean serum zinc concentration of smokers (99.76±27.42 μg/dl) was significantly lower than the non-smokers (108.25±32.20 μg/dl). Conclusions: The study concludes that anthropometric (body mass index), biochemical (vitamin A and zinc status), dietary (energy intake) and socio-economic (income, profession) characteristics failed to establish an association with smoking as most of the indicators of smokers are comparable to non-smokers