Incidence of Colorectal Carcinoma in the Remote Area of Sindh, Pakistan

Background: Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world that show malignant growth in the colon, rectum, and or appendix. CRC is the second most common malignancy in females and third in males. This study aimed to ascertain the incidence of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) in a population in a remote area of Sindh, Pakistan, and also compared and correlated the sociodemographic characteristics and different parameters such as diagnosis, grade, and histopathology of the CRC cases.Methods: The study was conducted from February 2012 to 2019 at Pakistan Atomic Energy Cancer Hospital (NORIN) Nawabshah Sindh, Pakistan. All cases were evaluated through a detailed history, clinical examination, radiological examination, and histopathology-proven cases. The sociodemographic parameters, diagnosis grades, and histopathology of the CRC were statistically compared and correlated by SPSS version 21.Results: Out of a total of 10,848 reported patients, 424 (3.9%) were of CRC. The CRC was further comprised of 63.9% males and 36.1% females. We classified our patients into two age groups, ≤ 40 years (Group-A), and > 40 years (Group B). Group-A comprised 41% of patients, and their mean age was 28±6.98 years, while Group B comprised 59% of patients with a mean age of 43±8.3 years. Histological specimens divulged that most of the common specimens were of adenocarcinoma. Early diagnosis was very strenuous due to no signs and symptoms. Thus, the majority of the patients, approximately 39%, were found to be of grade 2 carcinoma.Conclusion: Our study unveils an increased number of patients with CDC at an age of <40 belonging to rural areas. Further studies are needed to elucidate the cause of this high incidence with a particular focus on genetic and molecular risk factors.Keywords: Active lifestyle, Colorectal Carcinoma; Age group; Colorectal Adenocarcinoma

Analysis of Coverage and Area Spectral Efficiency under Various Design Parameters of Heterogeneous Cellular Network

As day by day the population is increasing, the use of mobile phones and different applications is increasing which requires high data rate for transmission. Homogeneous cellular network cannot fulfill the demand of mobile users, so creating a heterogeneous cellular network (HCN) is a better choice for higher coverage and capacity to fulfil the increasing demand of upcoming 5G and ultra-dense cellular networks. In this research, the impact of antenna heights and gains under varying pico to macro base stations density ratio from 2G to 5G and beyond on two-tier heterogeneous cellular network has been analyzed for obtaining optimum results of coverage and area spectral efficiency. Furthermore, how the association of UEs affects the coverage and ASE while changing the BSs antenna heights and gains has been explored for the two-tier HCN network model. The simulation results show that by considering the maximum macro BS antenna height, pico BS antenna height equal to user equipment (UE) antenna height and unity gains for both macro and pico tiers, the optimum coverage and area spectral efficiency (ASE) for a two-tier fully loaded heterogeneous cellular network can be obtained

An IoT and machine learning solutions for monitoring agricultural water quality: a robust framework

All living things, comprising animals, plants, and people require water to survive. The world is covered in water, just 1 percent of it is fresh and functional. The importance and value of freshwater have increased due to population growth and rising water demands. Approximately more than 70 percent of the world's freshwater is used for agriculture. Agricultural employees are the least productive, inefficient, and heavily subsidized water users in the world. They also utilize the most water overall. Irrigation consumes a considerable amount of water. The field's water supply needs to be safeguarded. A critical stage in estimating agricultural production is crop irrigation. The global shortage of fresh water is a serious issue, and it will only get worse in the years to come. Precision agriculture and intelligent irrigation are the only solutions that will solve the aforementioned issues. Smart irrigation systems and other modern technologies must be used to improve the quantity of high-quality water used for agricultural irrigation. Such a system has the potential to be quite accurate, but it requires data about the climate and water quality of the region where it will be used. This study examines the smart irrigation system using the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based architecture. The water's temperature, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), and turbidity are all measured by this device before the data is processed in a cloud using the range of machine learning (ML) approaches. Regarding water content limits, farmers are given accurate information. Farmers can increase production and water quality by using effective irrigation techniques. ML methods comprising support vector machines (SVM), random forests (RF), linear regression, Naive Bayes, and decision trees (DT) are used to categorize pre-processed data sets. Performance metrics like accuracy, precision, recall, and f1-score are used to calculate the performance of ML algorithms

Standard RUTF vs. locally-made RUSF for acutely malnourished children: A quasi-experimental comparison of the impact on growth and compliance in a rural community of Pakistan

Background: The reduction in severe and moderate acute malnutrition (SAM and MAM) rates in Pakistan has been sub-optimal compared to other low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Specially-formulated products have been designed globally to manage SAM and MAM, such as ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF), with variable efficacies. RUTF is primarily produced and patented in industrialized countries, raising supply challenges in resource-constrained regions with a high burden of acute malnutrition. RUSF minimizes costs by using locally-available ingredients while providing similar nutritional value. In this study, we compared the efficacy, side effects, and compliance of two months of supplementation with either RUTF or RUSF.Methods: Children aged nine months in the rural district of Matiari, Pakistan, with a weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) \u3c-2 received either RUTF (500 kcal sachet) for two months in 2015 or RUSF (520 kcal sachet) for two months in 2018.Results: The RUSF group had a higher height gain and mid-upper arm circumferences (MUAC) score. Higher compliance was noted with lower side effects in the RUSF group. A higher compliance rate did correlate with the growth parameters in respective groups.Conclusion: Our study found that both RUTF and RUSF partially improve the anthropometric status of acutely malnourished children, with neither being superior to the other

Epidemiological study of tick infestation in buffalo of various regions of district Khairpur, Pakistan

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological infestation and identification of Ixodidae and Argasidae ticks species in buffalo of different parts of district Khairpur, Pakistan. Materials and Methods: A total of 720 Water buffaloes from three tehsils (subdivisions) were selected randomly and examined from organized and unorganized dairy farms for tick infestation in district Khairpur, Pakistan. This epidemiological survey was conducted during April to September 2015. Results: The overall mean population and preferred site of tick attachment to infested animals, in Gambat, Sobhodero, and Kot Diji tehsils, were observed on different body parts. The primary body area of infestation by ticks (head, thorax, abdomen, udder, and tail) ranged from highest in tail and udder part compared to lowest in the abdomen, head, and thorax. In all study areas, the infestation was higher (p<0.05) in tail and udder than other parts of the body. In all the study areas, the overall highest population was found in the month of July. In addition, we first time identify four new species of ticks (Hyalomma anatolicum, H. anatolicum excavatum, Hyalomma Ixodes excavatum, and Ixodes ricinus) in district Khairpur, Pakistan. Conclusion: Results of this study provide additional information of epidemiological tick infestation, and will be helpful for evolving effective control policy for the management of tick infestation in study district