Intense Red Catho- and Photoluminescence from 200 nm Thick Samarium Doped Amorphous AlN Thin Films

Samarium (Sm) doped aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films are deposited on silicon (100) substrates at 77 K by rf magnetron sputtering method. Thick films of 200 nm are grown at 100–200 watts RF power and 5–8 m Torr nitrogen, using a metal target of Al with Sm. X-ray diffraction results show that films are amorphous. Cathodoluminescence (CL) studies are performed and four peaks are observed in Sm at 564, 600, 648, and 707 nm as a result of4G5/2 → 6H5/2,4G5/2 → 6H7/2,4G5/2 → 6H9/2, and4G5/2 → 6H11/2transitions. Photoluminescence (PL) provides dominant peaks at 600 and 707 nm while CL gives the intense peaks at 600 nm and 648 nm, respectively. Films are thermally activated at 1,200 K for half an hour in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermal activation enhances the intensity of luminescence

Experimental investigation of two-phase pressure drop in a microchannel

This paper was presented at the 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009), which was held at Brunel University, West London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPEM, the Italian Union of Thermofluid dynamics, the Process Intensification Network, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.An experimental study of two-phase pressure drop in a horizontal circular microchannel is presented in this paper. Test tube is made of fused silica having an internal diameter of 781μm with a total length of 261mm and a heated length of 191mm.The external surface of the test tube is coated with an electrically conductive thin layer of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) for direct heating of test section. Refrigerant R134a was used as the working fluid and mass flux during the experiments was varied from 100 to 650 kg/m2sec. Experiments were performed at a system pressure of 7.70 bar (corresponding to saturation temperature of 30oC). Two-phase frictional pressure drop characteristics with different mass flux, vapour fraction and heat flux were explored in detail. Finally, the prediction capability of well known available correlations in the literature, developed for macrochannels and others especially developed for microchannels was also checked. The homogeneous model predicts the data fairly well with a mean absolute deviation (MAD) of 19% and 69% of data within ±20% error band. The Müller-Steinhagen and Heck (1986) correlation developed for macrochannels predicts the data with a MAD of 19% and 61% of data within ±20% error band. The Mishima and Hibiki (1996) correlation, developed for microchannels, also shows fairly good approximation of the data with MAD of 19% and 57% of data within ±20% error band

Foetus-in-Foetu

Foetus-in-foetu is a rare malformation in which a monozygotic diamniotic parasitic twin is incorporated into the body of its fellow twin and grows inside it. Less than 100 cases have been reported in literature. One day old newborn male was admitted with antenatal diagnosis of abdominal mass. It was cystic/solid in nature with pressure effects on left ureter and urinary bladder, most likely to be a germ cell tumour. Birth history was uneventful. Exploratory laparotomy was performed and the mass was excised. Physical examination confirmed the diagnosis of foetus-in-foetu. Although it is a rare condition, imaging may play an important role in the correct prospective diagnosis of foetus-in-foetu. Surgical excision is the recommended treatment

Do all Pediatric Urine Specimens Need to Go to the Laboratory?

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the urine dipstick in diagnosing UTIs in children at a tertiary care centre in Pakistan. Methods: 72 inpatients at the Aga Khan Hospital pediatric ward, getting laboratory urinalysis due to UTI suspicion, were included. Dipstick tests were done on the urine samples being sent to the lab for microscopy. The sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios (LRs) of dipstick LE, and pyuria and bacteriuria on microscopy were calculated and compared, using urine culture results as the gold standard for diagnosis. Results: The specificity of dipstick LE, pyuria and bacteriuria were 77%, 77% and 90% respectively, while the positive likelihood ratios were was 28%, 44% and 49% respectively. Urine cultures were done for 58 patients, with 5 positive cultures, so plausible estimates of sensitivity were not made. Conclusions: Urine microscopy is a more accurate screening test for ruling in UTIs than the dipstick. Keeping in mind its diagnostic limitations, the dipstick can be used to help rule in a UTI, although confirmation by cultures is recommended. Further studies are needed to validate these results in children and to evaluate the dipstick's sensitivity for ruling out disease

Salmonella Cholecystitis: Atypical Presentation of a Typical Condition

Salmonella cholecystitis is a rare but important complication of Salmonella typhi infection. We are reporting an 11 years old female child who presented with complaints of high-grade fever, jaundice and right sided abdominal pain (Charcot\u27s triad). Her examination showed tender hepatomegaly. Initial blood results revealed high white cell counts with left shift, deranged liver function tests. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed distended gallbladder with minimal layer of sludge seen within its lumen along with streak of pericholecystic fluid. Blood culture grew Salmonella typhi. She was successfully treated with intravenous ceftriaxone

Ultrasound Imaging of Testes and Epididymides of Normal and Infertile Breeding Bulls

Echotexture of testes and epididymides from 10 slaughtered male buffaloes was studied. Diameter of testis and mediastinum testis was measured by ultrasound and compared with respective values taken by calipers. Testes and epididymides of another 10 fertile and 10 infertile breeding bulls were examined in vivo through manual palpation and ultrasound imaging. Semen quality of these bulls was also monitored. There were significant (P<0.01) positive correlations between ultrasound and calipers values of all parameters. The testicular parenchyma of fertile bulls was uniformly homogeneous and moderately echogenic. Epididymal tail was more heterogeneous and less echogenic, while epididymal head was homogeneous and less echogenic, than the testicular parenchyma. The epididymal body appeared as hypoechoic structure with echogenic margin. Among 10 infertile bulls, nine had poor semen quality, while one bull failed to give any ejaculate. On ultrasonography, six bulls showed abnormalities in their scrotal echotexture. Among these, one had an abundance of hyperechoic areas scattered in the testicular parenchyma, some of these showed acoustic shadowing, showing testicular degenerations with mineralization. The second bull showed many anechoic areas in the testes and epididymal head, demarcated from the rest of the organ by well defined margins. In the third bull, three-fourth of the right testis showed hyperechoic areas, suspected of testicular degeneration with mineralization. The fourth bull had two anechoic areas in one testis assumed to represent dilated blood vessel. The fifth bull showed small hyperechoic areas within the testicular parenchyma. The sixth bull showed an anechoic area with distinct hyperechogenic margin below the testicular tunics. The remaining four bulls had normal echogenicity of testes and epididymides in spite of poor semen quality. In conclusion, diagnostic ultrasound may be included in breeding soundness examination of breeding bulls

Estimation of macro and micro nutrients in some important medicinal plants of Soon Valley, District Khushab, Pakistan

Plants are potential source of therapeutic values in different traditional medicine systems of the world. Ethnomedicinal uses of 10 medicinal plants (MPs) of soon valley (Khushab) of Pakistan were documented and explored for trace (Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Co, Cd, Pb, Mn and Fe) and major (K, Na, Ca and Mg) elemental composition by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Results depicted that Zn was 15.36 ppm in Convolvulus arvensis. Cu showed max conc. was in P. harmala (18.72 ppm). Cr was highest in Cannabis sativa (30.39 ppm). Ni conc was 30.39 ppm in C. sativa. B. campestris had highest value of Co (8.44 ppm) in analyzed specimens, while H. vulgare recorded least amount of 0.98 ppm. Cd concentration was 2.76 ppm in A. aspera. H. vulgare exhibited higher Pb higher concentration (32.64 ppm). The occurrence range of Mn was 74.60 ppm in P. harmala and 105.56 ppm in A. aspera. Fe in the studied plants was max in H. vulgare (1889.69 ppm). B. campestris exhibited higher concentration of Ca (4210.92 ppm). The contents of Mg were 13342.88 ppm in C. arvensis and 6350.63 ppm in A. aspera, respectively. The quantity of macro and micro elements in analyzed MPs was high and beyond the safety standards of WHO. It demonstrates that use of botanical medicines or its products by man may be fatal and injurious for health and culminating into death. It is necessary to study and accomplish thorough analytical research on herbal medicines (MPs) of Pakistan in order to bring them at par with international standards.Key words: Soon valley, elemental contents, medicinal plants, safety standards, Khushab, Pakistan

Klebsiella osteomyelitis of the right humerus involving the right shoulder joint in an infant

Osteomyelitis in newborn infants is a rare infection. Lower extremity joints are commonly affected. Most of the cases have a haematogenous spread. Aerobes are the common group of organism involved, of which Staphylococcus aureus is the commonest. Klebsiella osteomyelitis has been reported as a cause of Osteomyelitis. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of Klebsiella pneumoniae associated osteomyelitis in an infant from Pakistan

Knowledge-based reasoning and recommendation framework for intelligent decision making

Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd A physical activity recommendation system promotes active lifestyles for users. Real-world reasoning and recommendation systems face the issues of data and knowledge integration, knowledge acquisition, and accurate recommendation generation. The knowledge-based reasoning and recommendation framework (KRF) proposed here, which accurately generates reliable recommendations and educational facts for users, could solve those issues. The KRF methodology focuses on integrating data with knowledge, rule-based reasoning, and conflict resolution. The integration issue is resolved using a semi-automatic mapping approach in which rule conditions are mapped to data schema. The rule-based reasoning methodology uses explicit rules with a maximum-specificity conflict resolution strategy to ensure the generation of appropriate and correct recommendations. The data used during the reasoning process are generated in real time from users\u27 physical activities and personal profiles in order to personalize recommendations. The proposed KRF is part of a wellness and health care platform, Mining Minds, and has been tested in the Mining Minds integrated environment using a sedentary user behaviour scenario. To evaluate the KRF methodology, a stand-alone, open-source application (Version 1.0) was released and tested using a dataset of 10 volunteers with 40 different types of sedentary behaviours. The KRF performance was measured using average execution time and recommendation accuracy