The curious case of urban population in Pakistan

In their examination of recently released census data, Saad Khan and Dr Muhammad Adeel write that not only has the urban population been undercounted, but that there exists an urban bias that is affecting vital service delivery to the rural and peri-urban populations in Pakistan

Pre-Screening of Ionic Liquids as Gas Hydrate Inhibitor via Application of COSMO-RS for Methane Hydrate

Ionic liquids (ILs) due to their potential dual functionality to shift hydrate equilibrium curve and retard hydrate nucleation are considered as a very promising gas hydrate inhibitor. However, experimental testing alone is insufficient to examine all potential ILs combinations due to a high number of cation and anion to form ILs. In this context, four fundamental properties of IL-hydrate system, namely, sigma profile, hydrogen bonding energies, activity coefficient, and solubility, were stimulated through conductor-like screening model for real solvent (COSMO-RS). ILs were then analyzed to determine if they can be correlated with IL inhibition ability. Among them, sigma profile and hydrogen bonding energies, which later upgraded to total interaction energies, exhibit a significant relationship with IL inhibition ability. Total interaction energies of ions, on the other hand, have successfully been applied to develop a model. The model can predict the thermodynamic inhibition ability in terms of average temperature depression. The correlation was further validated with experimental values from literature with an average error of 20.49%. Finally, using sigma profile graph and developed correlation, the inhibition ability of 20 ammonium-based ILs (AILs) have been predicted. Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMA-OH), due to its short alkyl chain length cation and highly electronegative anion, has shown the most promising inhibition ability among the considered system

Fiber optic probe hydrophone for HIFU field measurements

Dept. of Biomedical Engineering/석사Fiber Optic Probe Hydrophone (FOPH) has been developed in this research for measurements of HIFU fields and shockwaves. The FOPH offers a unique advantage over other PVDF Hydrophones for measuring higher pressure levels and shockwaves because of its frequency independence and the fact that the sensor tip is repairable if damaged by cavitation. The FOPH also offers small detector size which eliminates the need of spatial averaging. It also provides greater immunity to electromagnetic interferences. The proposed system contains a high power pigtailed laser diode module (1.5W@850nm) connected to a 2x2 arm 3dB optical coupler via FC-FC Adaptor. The optical coupler used in the system employs a 100/140µm multimode optical fiber as the sensing element. A silicon photodetector (0.55A/W@850nm)receives the modulated light signal and converts it into voltage output proportional to the applied acoustic pressure, which is further amplified by using a 40 dB amplifier. Three transducers having resonance frequencies of 1.1 MHz, 2.2 MHz and 5.6MHz have been used for calibration of the FOPH by comparing its output with the output of a calibrated0.2 mm PVDF membrane hydrophone. The sensitivity was determined as 3.6±0.1mV/MPa. Sensitivity was found to be linear and frequency independent. Pressure waveforms measured by FOPH showed agreement with those measured by membrane hydrophone for all transducers. The FOPH system was then tested with two ballistic shockwave devices to measure the pressure of shockwaves of their transducer probes. Shockwaves generated by the ballistic sources were recorded. Positive acoustic pressures in the range of 4 MPa to 20 MPa and negative pressures in the range of -3MPa to -15 MPa were measured.ope

Giant adrenal endothelial cyst associated with acute and chronic morbidity in a young female: a case report

Adrenal cysts are rare clinical entities that can present as acute abdomen through rupture and internal hemorrhage as well as chronic symptoms such as gastrointestinal disturbances. A 20-year-old girl presented to our hospital with a 4-years history of abdominal pain and diarrhea. Ultrasound of the abdomen revealed a cystic area measuring 10 × 10 cm between the spleen and left kidney. Computed tomography scan showed a large cystic, homogeneous mass measuring 12.8 × 9.5 × 9.4 cm in the left hypochondrium with most likely origin from the left adrenal gland. Limited work up for hormone hypersecretion was negative. The patient was then encountered in the emergency room with an acute abdomen secondary to intracystic hemorrhage. A laparotomy with left adrenalectomy was performed. Final pathology showed a benign adrenal endothelial cyst. Post-operatively, the patient's long standing complaints of diarrhea and abdominal pain completely resolved. Surgical resection appears a safe and reasonable management strategy in a patient with intracystic hemorrhage of adrenal cyst

Statistical analysis of waiting time of patients by queuing techniques: case study of large hospital in Pakistan

[EN] The purpose of this empirical research was to analyze the comfortable waiting time (CWT) of patients at the outpatient department (OPD) of Gastrology of ABC hospital of Karachi. It is based on the analysis of CWT of patients who were being served at the OPD of Gastrology of ABC hospital of Karachi. The data was collected by the help of questionnaire. Altogether 250 questionnaires were distributed among the patients, 210 of them were collected back and 10 of them were incompletely filled. Data was analysed in the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22. Data analysis included frequency distribution of various demographics;stratification tables were made for the comparison of CWT across various demographics. Results indicated that more females (old aged) had greater CWT in the comparison of males. It is found that the mean CWT of patients decreased with decreasing age, increasing OPD visiting time and increasing income. It is also found that he mean CWT for the patients from Afghanistan was greater than the patients from other regions i.e. Baluchistan, interior Sindh and Karachi. The authors highlighted that when patients arrive at the hospital and wait for their service, in this scenario, waiting cost is associated with their waiting time; since it is the matter of cost, thus it should be known to the hospital that if patients are made to wait longer, it can lead to the customer dissatisfaction. In this regard, analysis of comfortable waiting time of patients was extremely needed. Since, Karachi is the biggest city of Pakistan and targeted hospital is one the biggest private hospitals of Karachi and in the analysis of this paper. Only 200 patients were approached for data collection which is the main limitation of the paper. In future, the researchers should also focus on the same OPD for more responses and at the same time, other departments can also be targeted for conclude better and precise results. The authors have tried to focus on the CWT of patients so that the waiting capacity of patients could be highlighted. At the same time, detailed analysis was conducted across demographics so that their influence on CWT could be analysed. Authors of this research paper thank the management committee of ABC private hospital of Karachi for allowing us to collect the data and we are also thankful to the patients who cooperated in filling the questionnaires.Kalwar, MA.; Memon, MS.; Khan, MA.; Tanwari, A. (2021). Statistical analysis of waiting time of patients by queuing techniques: case study of large hospital in Pakistan. 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Anaesthetic management of nesidioblastosis in two infants

Nesidioblastosis is the most common cause of non-transient, recurrent and persistent hypoglycaemia in neonates and infants. It is a disorder of diffuse proliferation of beta cells of the pancreas leading to hyperinsulinemia and hypoglycaemia. The main aim is to prevent the severe episodes of hypoglycaemia which can cause damage to the brain and/or mental retardation. In this case report we present two cases of nesidioblastosis and their perioperative anaesthetic course for near-total pancreatectomy. First case was a 7 months old female who had repeated episodes of convulsions since birth. Second case was a 4-month-old female child who again presented with seizures. The challenges faced in the perioperative period were the management of perioperative blood glucose levels and haemodynamic stability

Satellite Derived Sea surface temperature fronts in relation with Tuna catch In EEZ of Pakistan

Sea surface temperature (SST) is an important parameter in marine ecosystem studies as its relations of Fishery and other marine resources. In this study SST fronts have also been studied with relate to tuna fish catch data of April and August 2014 was acquired. Satellite derived MODIS daily products have been used to derive thermal fronts in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Pakistan. Research results indicated that the Sea surface temperature gradually changed from 22C to 24C where Tuna catch is high and By Catch is low in frontal region. The further Relationship between these two data are discussed in this study and also made recommendations for in what way these two datasets should be handled. Remote sensing data and GIS tools are efficient and less time consuming for mapping and classifying sea surface temperature in a broader way. Survey of fishing resources is really time consumed and costly, Satellite Remote sensing data shows a promising tool to monitor fishery resources in a cost effective manner. Satellite data play an important role to identify fish aggregation zones and these techniques could also be used to forecast potential fishing zones by measuring oceanic parameters which influence on fish distribution on a broader scale and these techniques can help to local fisherman and fishery organizations to observe fishery resources

Ependymal tumors with oligodendroglioma like clear cells: Experience from a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

Background: Ependymal tumors with oligodendroglioma like clear cells have never been reported from Pakistan. We aimed to see the features and outcomes of this rare entity.Methods: It was retrospective cohort conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery, Aga Khan University from 2003 to 2013. The medical records and radiology of patients with proven histopathology were reviewed. Analysis was done on SPSS 20.Results: Eleven cases of ependymal tumors with clear cells were found, which equated to 1.5% of the total tumor burden in 11 years. The median age was 49 years. Most common presenting symptom was headache 54.5%. Out of 11 patients, 9 patients had a supratentorial tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging showed hypointense signals on T1 and hyperintense signals on T2-weighted images in all cases. Contrast enhancement was found in 9 patients (77.8%), necrosis and hemorrhage was found in 4 (36%) and 3 (27%) patients, respectively. Immunohistochemistry showed glial fibrillary acidic protein and epithelial membrane antigen positivity in all cases. Ki-67 showed high proliferative index in 6 patients. According to the World Health Organization grading of ependymal tumors, 2 patients had Grade II tumors, and 9 patients had Grade III tumors with clear cells. Gross total resection was achieved in 6 (54.5%) and subtotal resection in 5 patients (45.4%). Recurrence was observed in 9 patients. Six patients died of the disease. Median progression-free survival and overall survival was 8 months and 10 months, respectively.Conclusion: Ependymal tumors with clear cells presented more commonly in Grade III lesions and were more aggressive in behavior with poorer outcome compared to similar studies

Bicompartmental decompressive craniectomy: Report of two cases

A recent study of randomized controlled trials showed favorable outcomes with use of decompressive craniectomy in managing and treating uncontrolled intracranial pressures accompanied with cerebral edema due to trauma. We present the details of bicompartmental decompressive craniectomy on two patients who presented with severe head trauma of supra- and infratentorial pathologies. The surgical management techniques and long-term follow-up are discussed in detail