Omphalocele and macroglossia: a case of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a pediatric overgrowth disorder which predisposes to tumor development. The following case study examined a prenatal finding of omphalocele with postnatal findings of macroglossia and cutaneous hemangioma, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of BWS. This case highlighted the features of BWS, the diagnostic principles and the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach to its management

CONTROLLING INFORMATION LOAD THROUGH PRE-LECTURE ASSIGNMENTS AND STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AT SECONDARY LEVEL

Various studies in the past explored a positive correlation between information load and students’ understanding difficulties. In topics where the thought steps exceeded the working memory limit the performance collapsed quite spectacularly. The capacity of this part of the brain is determined genetically fixed. However, the room for efficient use of this part is open largely through experience. In this study pre-learning strategy was practiced to minimize the load on working memory in order to improve students’ understanding in mathematics. To follow the strategy, twenty pre-lectures were developed from year 9 and 10 mathematics textbooks followed by twenty post-tests. A sample of 212 students was taken from two FG schools in Peshawar Cantt. The outcome was focused in terms of understanding rather memorization. No changes were made in the curriculum content, time allocation and the teachers. The results depicted significant improvement in students’ performance in the stipulated topics. The results are consistent with previous studies in very different contexts, which highlighted significant importance of pre-learning practice

Open Source High Fidelity Modeling of a Type 5 Wind Turbine Drivetrain for Grid Integration

The increasing integration of renewable energy resources in evolving bulk power system (BPS) is impacting the system inertia. Type-5 wind turbine generation has the potential to behave like a traditional synchronous generator and can help improve system inertia. Hydraulic torque converter (TC) and gearbox with torque limiting feature are integral parts of a Type-5 wind turbine unit. High fidelity model of Type-5 wind turbine including these core components is not openly and widely available for grid integration and transient stability studies. This hinders appropriate assessment of Type-5 wind power plant's contribution to bulk grid resilience. This work develops a TC model based on those generally used in automobile's transmission system. Moreover, the concept of torsional coupling is leveraged to integrate the TC and gearbox system dynamics. The entire integrated model will be open sourced and publicly available for grid integration studies.Comment: This manuscript is originally submitted to Journal of Physic

Tools and Techniques Adapted for Teaching Software Engineering Topics Remotely during the COVID-19 Pandemic

To stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, educational institutions abruptly switched from in-person to online, remote mode of teaching without giving educators the necessary tools and training. In this paper, we focus on the Software Engineering Education & Training (SEET) courses at the university levels and address questions like: What tools and techniques did they adapt to handle the modality transition challenges? What lessons they learned and what would they do differently the next time? What are the students' perspective on these, etc.? We interviewed 16 SEET educators from different countries around the world; followed by surveys of more than 300 educator and student participants. Our empirical study found some common themes of challenges, as well as suggestions on tools and techniques to overcome them

End stage renal disease: Seroprevalence of hepatitises B and C along with associated aetiology and risk factors in children

Background: End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) normally requires dialysis or transplantation for survival. Since ESRD patients are on long term dialysis, infections such as Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) are commonly reported.Methods: This was a retrospective study carried out at a government hospital during a 12-month period from January 2013 to December 2013. The data was collected using a predesigned pro forma to note the etiology, gender, age, and HBsAg and anti-HCV test result of each patient.Results: 444 children suffering from ESRD were included in our analysis. The mean age of sample was 12.7 ± 4.1 years. Sixty percent (n = 262) of the children were boys. The most common etiology of ESRD was kidney stones (n = 44, 29.3%). HBV was positive in 11 children (2.5%) while HCV was positive in 13 (2.9%).Conclusion: This study asserts the need for carrying out further work to confirm these findings and expand our recommendations. It is imperative to reliably determine the burden of HBV and HCV disease and to determine the aetiology of their spread especially in children with ESRD

Conservative treatment for patients with massive prolapsed lumber intervertebral discs

Background: The natural history of Lumber hernia of nucleus pulpous is not fully known and absolute indications for surgical intervention cannot be established. Several studies have shown that the most giant discs appear to have the greatest tendency to resolve with conservative treatment. The objective of this study is to investigate whether massive prolapsed discs can be safely managed conservatively once clinical improvement has occurred.Methods: Thirty-five patients were studied by clinical assessments and serial magnetic imaging over 3 years. Patients present with intense sciatica but began to show clinical improvement despite massive disc prolapsed. Clinical assessment included the Lasegue test and neurological improvement. The Oswestry disability index was used to measure function and changes in function. Serial MRI studies allowed the measurement of volume changes of the prolapsed disc material over some time. Results: Initial follow-up at an average of 13.2 months showed that 87% had complete and sustained recovery at the initial follow-up. Only four patients required surgery. The average Oswestry disability index improved from 63% to 20%. Volumetric analysis of serial MRI scans showed an average reduction of 69% in disc size. Conclusions: A massive disc prolapsed can pursue a favourable course. If early progress is shown, the long-term prognosis is very good and even massive disc prolapses can be treated conservatively

Endovascular embolisation of visceral artery pseudoaneurysms

Objective. To evaluate the technical success, safety, and outcome of endovascular embolization procedure in management of visceral artery pseudoaneurysms. Materials and Methods. 46 patients were treated for 53 visceral pseudoaneurysms at our institution. Preliminary diagnostic workup in all cases was performed by contrast enhanced abdominal CT scan and/or duplex ultrasound. In all patients, embolization was performed as per the standard departmental protocol. For data collection, medical records and radiology reports of all patients were retrospectively reviewed. Technical success, safety, and outcome of the procedure were analyzed. Results. Out of 46 patients, 13 were females and 33 were males. Mean patient age was 44.79 ± 13.9 years and mean pseudoaneurysm size was 35 ± 19.5mm. Technical success rate for endovascular visceral pseudoaneurysm coiling was 93.47% (n = 43). Complication rate was 6.52% (n = 3). Followup was done for a mean duration of 21 ± 1.6 months (0.5-69 months). Complete resolution of symptoms or improvement in clinical condition was seen in 36 patients (80%) out of those 45 in whom procedure was technically successful. Conclusion. Results of embolization of visceral artery pseudoaneurysms with coils at our center showed high success rate and good short term outcome

Outcome of perforator propeller flap for the coverage of soft tissue defects over middle and distal part of leg

Background: Plastic surgery is a constant battle between blood supply and beauty. The end result of a reconstructive procedure is primarily attributable to the stability of the vascular component, which is fundamental in that it ensures survival and proper functioning of tissues that have been transferred to the recipient site. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of perforator propeller flap for coverage of soft tissue defects in middle and distal legs. Methods: This was a prospective observational study and was conducted in the Department of Plastic Surgery, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from September 2018 to February 2020. The study population includes the total of 30 patients having soft tissue defects of the middle and distal thirds of leg necessary for flap coverage in the Department of Plastic Surgery, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Results: In total 30 patients maximum 11 (36.7%) were in 31-40 years age group. Majority 27 (90%) were male and 3 (10%) were female in our study. Out of 22 flaps in distal leg necrosis occurred in 4 (18.19%) and among 8 flaps in middle leg necrosis occurred in 1 (12.5%). Conclusions: This study observed that that perforator propeller flaps are ideal in reconstructing soft tissue defects of the middle and distal third of the leg, being safe, easy to perform, providing similar tissue in texture and thickness of damaged tissues, with low donor site morbidity