Rapidly developing Optic Neuritis secondary to Ethambutol: possible mechanism of injury

Optic neuritis has been described among the toxic effects of Ethambutol. This side effect is dose related. The mean duration of Ethambutol induced optic neuritis (EON) is three months. We report a case of EON after few days of exposure to Ethambutol and the symptoms resolved after discontinuation of Ethambutol. This most likely represents an idiosyncratic reaction which is different as compared to dose related optic neuritis

Impact of Trade Reforms on Poverty

Trade plays a vital role in determining the growth process of any country. Trade liberalisation and openness of the economy are now almost universally accepted as the main ingredients of successful economic growth and welfare of the population. These are believed to be responsible for the exceptional growth of industrialised and newly industrialised countries. Many developing countries, under the auspices of the WTO are taking major steps to liberalise their trade regimes. However, in the short run, the impact of these policy changes is generally perceived to be painful for both the producers and the consumers; and especially so for the latter. A key question here is the impact of trade reforms on poverty, which has persisted in most developing countries despite concerted efforts on many fronts to eradicate this social evil. Like many developing countries, Pakistan has undertaken far-reaching trade reforms aimed at creating an open international trading environment. Pakistan’s dependence on international trade, as measured by the total trade to GDP ratio, has increased significantly from 13.3 percent in 1960-61, to 32.47 percent in 1992-93. As such, it is important to determine if there is a relationship between trade liberalisation and poverty alleviation; do trade reforms lead to reduction in country wide poverty levels or not

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-10 years of data from a developing country

Intensive chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with hematological malignancies. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the outcomes of patients with mainly lymphoma and multiple myeloma after autologous stem cell transplant. The pretransplant workup consisted of the complete blood count, an evaluation of the liver, kidney, lung, and infectious profile, chest radiographs, and a dental review. For lymphoma, all patients who achieved at least a 25% reduction in the disease after salvage therapy were included in the study. Mobilization was done with cyclophosphamide, followed by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, 300 g twice daily. The conditioning regimens included BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan) and high-dose melphalan. A total of 206 transplants were performed from April 2004 to December 2014. Of these, 137 were allogeneic transplants and 69 were autologous. Of the patients receiving an autologous transplant, 49 were male and 20 were female. Of the 69 patients, 26 underwent transplantation for Hodgkin\u27s lymphoma, 23 for non-Hodgkin\u27s lymphoma, and 15 for multiple myeloma and 4 and 1 for Ewing\u27s sarcoma and neuroblastoma, respectively. The median age ± SD was 34 ± 13.1 years (range, 4-64). A mean of 4.7 * 10⁸ ± 1.7 mononuclear cells per kilogram were infused. The median time to white blood cell recovery was 18.2 ± 5.34 days. Transplant-related mortality occurred in 10 patients. After a median follow-up period of 104 months, the overall survival rate was 86%. High-dose chemotherapy, followed by autologous stem cell transplant, is an effective treatment option for patients with hematological malignancies, allowing further consolidation of response

Comparison of Hematological and Inflammatory Markers to Predict Outcome in Covid-19 in 1st and 4th Wave

OBJECTIVES: To compare the values of the hematological and inflammatory markers in 1st and 4th waves to predict the outcome of COVID-19 in a hospital-based study. METHODOLOGY: This comparative study was conducted in the Department of Hematology, Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar, from April 2020 to 20 August 2021. Tests of significance (Independent t-test/Mann Whitney U test) and Chi-square test were used. Relevant information was recorded on a pre-designed proforma prepared following the study's objectives. RESULTS: A total of 178 patients, 71 from (the 1st wave) and 107 from (the 4th wave) with known outcomes, were studied. A statistically significant difference exists between the groups (1st vs 4th wave) regarding hematological markers; neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (p=0.02), Absolute Neutrophilic count (ANC) (p=0.01) and platelet count (p=0.001). Similarly, significantly higher inflammatory markers values were recorded in the 1st  wave compared with the 4th wave regarding inflammatory markers; CRP (p=0.002) and D-dimer (p=0.001). During the 1st wave, Total Leukocyte Count (TLC), ANC and d-dimer were the leading prognostic indicators to predict mortality/worst outcome in COVID-19 with an Area Under Curve (AUC) of 0.74, 0.70 and 0.7  on receiver operating characteristics (ROC) respectively. In 4th, the Area under the curve (AUC) of d-dimer was 0.84 to predict mortality.  CONCLUSION: TLC, ANC, NLR, and low platelet count were the worst hematological markers in COVID-19 in the first wave, while d-dimer and CRP were the primary prognostic inflammatory markers. Unlikely in the 4th wave, the prognostic values of hematological markers were merely significant. The d-dimer values in both the waves proved to be reliable for predicting the severity and mortality of COVID-19

Perhitungan Matriks Pij dan Distribusi Fluks Neutron pada Sel Bahan Bakar Nuklir U-235 dan U-238 Berbentuk Slab Menggunakan MOC

Telah dilakukan perhitungan matriks Pij serta distribusi fluks neutron di dalam geometri slab pada sel bahan bakar nuklir U-235 dan U-238 dalam kondisi homogen dan tidak homogen. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memperoleh nilai fluks skalar dan nilai Pij yang menggunakan Method of Characteristic (MOC). Besarnya fluks neutron dan nilai Pij bergantung pada penampang lintang bahan bakar nuklir, lebar region, jumlah region dan parameter input lainnya. Hasil penelitian ini secara umum telah sesuai dengan teori yaitu nilai Pij total pada beberapa region bernilai ≈ 1. Nilai Pij dan distribusi fluks neutron pada keadaan homogen lebih baik dan seragam dibandingkan pada keadaan tidak homogen, hal ini terlihat dari bentuk distribusi fluks pada slab sesuai dengan penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Karriem (2012) Kata kunci: Matriks Pij, fluks neutron, Method of Characteristic(MOC), homogen, tidak homoge

Problems and Challenges in the Preservation of Digital Contents: An Analytical Study

This paper probed the issues and changelogs related to the preservation of digital contents. A literature-based approach was adopted to identify the major problems related to the preservation of these unique contents. After studying the literature, it was identified that basic principles that should be kept in mind while preserving digital contents are longevity, selection, quality, integrity, and accessibility. It was found that the most critical problems and challenges faced during the digital preservation including nature of the contents keeping the data, maintaining trust in the data, coping with the data deluge, technological obsolescence, media fragility, lack of expert and copyright & intellectual property right issues, etc. It was concluded that the libraries, archives, and information centers should be equipped with ICT facilities, and the staff has the necessary skills to handle the management of digital resources and their preservation. Moreover, sufficient funds should be allocated for the procurement and preservation of digital objects

Frequency and outcome of graft versus host disease after stem cell transplantation: A Six-Year Experience from a Tertiary Care Center in Pakistan

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency and outcome of graft versus host disease after stem cell transplantation for various haematological disorders in Pakistan. Materials and Methods. Pretransplant workup of the patient and donor was performed. Mobilization was done with G-CSF 300 mu g twice daily for five day. Standard GvHD prophylaxis was done with methotrexate 15mg/m(2) on day +1 followed by 10mg/m(2) on days +3 and +6 and cyclosporine. Grading was done according to the Glucksberg classification. Results. A total of 153 transplants were done from April 2004 to December 2011. Out of these were allogeneic transplants. There were females and males. The overall frequency of any degree of graft versus host disease was 34%. Acute GvHD was present in patients while had chronic GvHD. Grade II GvHD was present in patients while grade III and IV GvHD was seen in patients each. Acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia were most commonly associated with GvHD. The mortality in acute and chronic GvHD was 8.8% and 12% respectively. Conclusion. The frequency of graft versus host disease in this study was 34% which is lower compared to international literature. The decreased incidence can be attributed to reduced diversity of histocompatibility antigens in our population

Effect of sorbitol on dough rheology and quality of sugar replaced cookies

A high amount of sugar is used in bakery products, which may cause diabetes, high blood glucose levels and obesity. Due to these reasons, sugar is being replaced with substitutes. There is different carbohydrate-based sugar substitutes (polyols) that can efficiently replace sugar. Among polyols, sorbitol is an efficient replacer that can mimic sugar with minimal effects on cookie quality. Effects of different sorbitol levels (0 to 12.5%) were seen on the dough rheology. Mixographic studies showed that peak height and mixing time reduced with the addition of sorbitol. Farinographic studies showed that water absorption and the mixing tolerance index of dough reduced with the supplementation of sorbitol, whereas dough development time, arrival time, dough stability time and softening of dough increased. Extensographic studies revealed that sorbitol substitution produced hard, cohesive, adhesive and elastic dough. Sugar in cookies formulations was reduced from 100 to 50% by replacing with sorbitol 0 to 50%. Physical analysis of sorbitol containing cookies showed that the diameter and spread factor of cookies decreased with higher levels of sorbitol, whereas thickness, color, hardness and water activity of cookies increased. The calorific value of cookies decreased with the increasing levels of sorbitol. At upto 20% replacement of sugar, other parameters of cookies were not affected. Sensory evaluation of the cookies showed that hedonic points for sensory evaluation parameters reduced with the increasing levels of sorbitol, T2 (20% replacement) showed maximum overall acceptability

Localization performance evaluation of extended kalman filter in wireless sensors network

This paper evaluates the positioning and tracking performance of Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) in wireless sensors network. The EKF is a linear approximation of statistical Kalman Filter (KF) and has the capability to work efficiently in non-linear systems. The EKF is based on an iterative process of estimating current state information from the previously estimated state. Its working is based on the linearization of observation model around the mean of current state information. The EKF has small computation complexity and requires low memory compared to other Bayesian algorithms which makes it very suitable for low powered mobile devices. This paper evaluates the localization and tracking performance of EKF for (i) Position (P) model, (ii) Position-Velocity (PV) model and (iii) Position-Velocity-Acceleration (PVA) model. The EKF processes distance measurements from cricket sensors that are acquired through time difference of arrival between ultrasound and Radio Frequency (RF) signals. Further, localization performance under varying number of beacons/sensors is also evaluated in this paper. © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version