Transient Global Amnesia as the First Clinical Symptom for Malignant B-Cell Lymphoma with Central Nervous System Involvement

We present the case of an elderly male who was diagnosed with transient global amnesia (TGA), only to be diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma with central nervous system involvement a few weeks later. This is the first ever case reported in literature with lymphoma presenting as TGA. Literature review and pertinent points regarding high-yield imaging protocol for presumed TGA patients are discussed

SOCIO- DEMOGRAPHIC AND DIETARY DETERMINANTS OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN MALE PAKISTANI ADULTS

The aim of this study was to identify potential socio-demographic and dietary determinants of overweight and obesity in men to provide basis for effective prevention strategies. A stratified random sample of 897 men (aged >30 years and free from any chronic / congenital diseases) were selected for the study from Mardan city located in the North West of Pakistan. Height and weight of the subjects were measured using standard anthropometric methods; body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Data on dietary intake, overweight /obesity trend in the families, physical activity and socio-economic status were collected by interview. Pearson’s chi square statistic and chi square trend were used to determine the differences in prevalence of overweight and obesity between different groups. Multiple logistic regressions were used to identify potential socio-demographic and dietary factors associated with overweight / obesity. Using BMI, subjects were identified as normal (<25), overweight (25-29.9) and obese (≥30). Overall, prevalence of overweight and obesity was 33% and 9% respectively. There was an increasing trend in the prevalence of overweight and obesity with increasing age (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.12-1.18). Among socio-economic factors; occupation, family history of overweight/obesity, monthly income and physical activity were found to be significant predictors of overweight/obesity in study subjects. In contrast to developed countries, increased income was associated with increased levels of overweight/obesity. Among dietary factors, daily energy intake and subjects’ preferences for fried meat and fatty foods were evident as significant correlates of overweight/obesity. Strong predictors of overweight and obesity included income level, physical inactivity and poor dietary preferences in the study population

COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF HYPERTONIC SALINE AND NORMAL SALINE SOLUTIONS IN EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED ENDOTOXIC SHOCK IN DOGS

This study was contemplated to determine the comparative beneficial effects of hypertonic saline solution and sterile saline solution in induced endotoxic shock in dogs. For this purpose, 12 healthy Mongrel dogs were randomly divided into two equal groups (A and B). All the animals were induced endotoxaemia by slow intravenous administration of Escherichia coli endotoxins 0111:B4. Group A was treated with normal saline solution @ 90 ml/kg BW, while group B was given hypertonic saline solution @ 4 ml/kg BW, followed by normal saline solution @ 10 ml/kg BW. Different parameters were observed for evaluation of these fluids including clinical and haematological parameters, serum electrolytes, mean arterial pressure, and blood gases at different time intervals up to 24 hours post treatments. After infusion of respective fluids, all parameters returned to baseline values in both the groups but group B showed better results than group A except bicarbonates, which better recovered in group A. Thus, it was concluded that a small-volume of hypertonic saline solution could be effectively used in reversing the endotoxaemia. Moreover, it provides a rapid and inexpensive resuscitation from endotoxic shock

Composite Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria

This paper presents eight hybrid renewable energy (RE) systems that are derived from solar, wind and biomass, with energy storage, to meet the energy demands of an average household in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The resource assessments show that the solar insolation, wind speed (at 30 m hub height) and biomass in the country range, respectively, from 4.38–6.00 kWh/m2/day, 3.74 to 11.04 m/s and 5.709–15.80 kg/household/day. The HOMER software was used to obtain optimal configurations of the eight hybrid energy systems along the six geopolitical zones’ RE resources. The eight optimal systems were further subjected to a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) analysis, which considers technical, economic, environmental and socio-cultural criteria. The TOPSIS-AHP composite procedure was adopted for the MCDM analysis in order to have more realistic criteria weighting factors. In all the eight techno-economic optimal system configurations considered, the biomass generator-solar PV-battery energy system (GPBES) was the best system for all the geopolitical zones. The best system has the potential of capturing carbon from the atmosphere, an attribute that is desirous for climate change mitigation. The cost of energy (COE) was seen to be within the range of 0.151–0.156 US$/kWh, which is competitive with the existing electricity cost from the national grid, average 0.131 US$/kWh. It is shown that the Federal Government of Nigeria favorable energy policy towards the adoption of biomass-to-electricity systems would make the proposed system very affordable to the rural households

Exergoeconomic and Environmental Modeling of Integrated Polygeneration Power Plant with Biomass-Based Syngas Supplemental Firing

There is a burden of adequate energy supply for meeting demand and reducing emission to avoid the average global temperature of above 2 °C of the pre-industrial era. Therefore, this study presents the exergoeconomic and environmental analysis of a proposed integrated multi-generation plant (IMP), with supplemental biomass-based syngas firing. An in-service gas turbine plant, fired by natural gas, was retrofitted with a gas turbine (GT), steam turbine (ST), organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for cooling and power production, a modified Kalina cycle (KC) for power production and cooling, and a vapour absorption system (VAB) for cooling. The overall network, energy efficiency, and exergy efficiency of the IMP were estimated at 183 MW, 61.50% and 44.22%, respectively. The specific emissions were estimated at 122.2, 0.222, and 3.0 × 10−7 kg/MWh for CO2, NOx, and CO, respectively. Similarly, the harmful fuel emission factor, and newly introduced sustainability indicators—exergo-thermal index (ETI) and exergetic utility exponent (EUE)—were obtained as 0.00067, 0.675, and 0.734, respectively. The LCC of $1.58 million was obtained, with a payback of 4 years, while the unit cost of energy was estimated at 0.0166$/kWh. The exergoeconomic factor and the relative cost difference of the IMP were obtained as 50.37% and 162.38%, respectively. The optimum operating parameters obtained by a genetic algorithm gave the plant’s total cost rate of 125.83 $/hr and exergy efficiency of 39.50%. The proposed system had the potential to drive the current energy transition crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shock in the energy sector

An Ethnobotanical study of Medicinal Plants in high mountainous region of Chail valley (District Swat- Pakistan)

BACKGROUND: This paper represents the first ethnobotanical study in Chail valley of district Swat-Pakistan and provides significant information on medicinal plants use among the tribal people of the area. The aim of this study was to document the medicinal uses of local plants and to develop an ethnobotanical inventory of the species diversity. METHODS: In present study, semi-structured interviews with 142 inhabitants (age range between 31–75 years) were conducted. Ethnobotanical data was analyzed using relative frequency of citation (RFC) to determine the well-known and most useful species in the area. RESULTS: Current research work reports total of 50 plant species belonging to 48 genera of 35 families from Chail valley. Origanum vulgare, Geranium wallichianum and Skimmia laureola have the highest values of relative frequency of citation (RFC) and are widely known by the inhabitants of the valley. The majority of the documented plants were herbs (58%) followed by shrubs (28%), trees (12%) and then climbers (2%). The part of the plant most frequently used was the leaves (33%) followed by roots (17%), fruits (14%), whole plant (12%), rhizomes (9%), stems (6%), barks (5%) and seeds (4%). Decoction was the most common preparation method use in herbal recipes. The most frequently treated diseases in the valley were urinary disorders, skin infections, digestive disorders, asthma, jaundice, angina, chronic dysentery and diarrhea. CONCLUSION: This study contributes an ethnobotanical inventory of medicinal plants with their frequency of citations together with the part used, disease treated and methods of application among the tribal communities of Chail valley. The present survey has documented from this valley considerable indigenous knowledge about the local medicinal plants for treating number of common diseases that is ready to be further investigated for biological, pharmacological and toxicological screening. This study also provides some socio-economic aspects which are associated to the local tribal communities

Six Centuries of Upper Indus Basin Streamflow Variability and Its Climatic Drivers

Our understanding of the full range of natural variability in streamflow, including how modern flow compares to the past, is poorly understood for the Upper Indus Basin because of short instrumental gauge records. To help address this challenge, we use Hierarchical Bayesian Regression with partial pooling to develop six centuries long (1394–2008 CE) streamflow reconstructions at three Upper Indus Basin gauges (Doyian, Gilgit, and Kachora), concurrently demonstrating that Hierarchical Bayesian Regression can be used to reconstruct short records with interspersed missing data. At one gauge (Partab Bridge), with a longer instrumental record (47 years), we develop reconstructions using both Bayesian regression and the more conventionally used principal components regression. The reconstructions produced by principal components regression and Bayesian regression at Partab Bridge are nearly identical and yield comparable reconstruction skill statistics, highlighting that the resulting tree ring reconstruction of streamflow is not dependent on the choice of statistical method. Reconstructions at all four reconstructions indicate that flow levels in the 1990s were higher than mean flow for the past six centuries. While streamflow appears most sensitive to accumulated winter (January–March) precipitation and summer (May–September) temperature, with warm summers contributing to high flow through increased melt of snow and glaciers, shifts in winter precipitation and summer temperatures cannot explain the anomalously high flow during the 1990s. Regardless, the sensitivity of streamflow to summer temperatures suggests that projected warming may increase streamflow in coming decades, though long-term water risk will additionally depend on changes in snowfall and glacial mass balance

Knowledge and attitudes about health research amongst a group of Pakistani medical students

Background Health research training is an important part of medical education. This study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge and attitudes regarding health research in a group of Pakistani medical students at Aga Khan University, Karachi. Methods It was a cross-sectional pilot study conducted among a group of Pakistani medical students. Through stratified random sampling, a pre-tested, structured and validated questionnaire was administered to 220 medical students. Knowledge and attitudes were recorded on a scale (graduated in percentages). Results Mean scores of students were 49.0% on knowledge scale and 53.7% on attitude scale. Both knowledge and attitudes improved significantly with increasing years of study in medical college [Regression coefficient 4.10 (p-value; 0.019) and 6.67 (p-value; \u3c 0.001) for knowledge and attitudes, respectively]. Conclusion Medical students demonstrate moderate level of knowledge and attitude towards health research. Intensive training in this regard is associated with significant improvement in knowledge and attitudes of students towards health research