A Miniaturized Wide Band Implantable Antenna for Biomedical Application

In this paper, a miniaturized high gain antenna was designed for biomedical applications. The designed antenna operates on the industrial, medical, and scientific(2.40 - 2.4835) GHz band. The proposed antenna consists of the radiating element having rectangular, and circular slots, and a ground plane with rectangular slots. The total volume of the designed antenna is (7x7xO.2) mm 3 , and the thickness of the superstrate and substrate is 0.1 mm. The Rogers ULTRALAM (e , = 2.9, tanD = 0.0025) material is used for substrate and superstrate. The proposed antenna is placed inside the different phantoms of the human body. The maximum gain achieved by the simulations of the proposed antenna is -12 dBi at 2.45 GHz. The designed antenna has better results than the antennas discussed in the literature in term of size, gain, and bandwidth

A Study on Injection Moulding of Two Different Pottery Bodies

Injection moulding of a conventional high clay pottery body and an unconventional low clay pottery body has been described. The Sheffield Binder System comprising of a major component of PEG and a minor component of PMMA was used. The behavior of these pottery bodies during various stages of injection moulding has been analyzed. Optical and scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the structure of green and sintered specimens

Injection Moulding and Heat Treatment of Ni-Cr-Si-B Alloy Powder

Injection moulding, debinding, sintering and heat treatment of Ni-Cr-Si-B alloy powder of high hardness value have been studied. A binder system comprised of two polymers, a major component of water soluble polyethylene glycols (PEGs) and a minor component of very finely dispersed polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) derived from an emulsion was employed. Mixing of a number of different feedstocks was carried out manually. Following the identification of the optimum binder composition (20 wt. % PMMA, 80 wt. % PEGs) and solid loading (65 Vol. %), several test specimens were injection moulded for further processing. The PEGs were removed by leaching with water. The PMMA was removed by pyrolysis, prior to the sintering stage. Samples were sintered to ~ 99 % of theoretical density. With careful control of the various processing parameters, including sintering temperature and time, cooling rate and heat treatment conditions, good mechanical properties including high hardness of HRC ~57 were attained. In an attempt to reduce the process cycle time, the sintering ramp was modified to include solutionising and oil-quenching in a single sintering cycle. The hardened samples were tempered at temperatures from 250 to 350 °C for 2 hours. Scanning electron microscopy was used to reveal the micro-structural changes during various sintering and heat-treatment stages

Synergistic effects of natural product combinations in protecting the endothelium against cardiovascular risk factors

Endothelial dysfunction is an early hallmark of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Monotherapies are limited due to the complex, multifactorial pathways. The multi-component and multi-targeted approach of natural products have the potential to manage CVDs. This review aims to provide a comprehensive insight into the synergistic mechanism of natural product combinations in protecting the endothelium against various cardiovascular risk factors. Databases (PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE) and Google Scholar were searched, and studies in English published between January 2000 and February 2022 were collated. Clinical and pre-clinical studies of natural product combinations with or without pharmaceutical medicines, compared with monotherapy and/or proposing the underlying mechanism in protecting endothelial function, were included. Four clinical studies demonstrated that natural product combinations or natural product-pharmaceutical combinations improved endothelial function. This was associated with multi-targeted effects or improved absorption of the active substances in the body. Seventeen preclinical studies showed that natural product combinations produced synergistic (demonstrated by combination index or Bliss independence model) or enhanced effects in protecting the endothelium against hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, platelet activation, oxidative stress and hyperhomocysteinemia. The molecular targets included reactive oxygen species, Nrf2-HO-1, p38MAPK, P13K/Akt and NF-κB. Thus, the current available evidence of natural product combinations in targeting endothelial dysfunction is predominantly from preclinical studies. These have demonstrated synergistic/enhanced pharmacological activities and proposed associated mechanisms. However, evidence from larger, well-designed clinical trials remains weak. More cohesion is required between preclinical and clinical data to support natural product combinations in preventing or slowing the progression of CVDs

SONOGRAPHIC FINDINGS IN FEMALES OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE WITH ACUTE PELVIC PAIN

Background: Acute pelvic pain can result from the gynecological, urological systems and/or gastrointestinal. Ultrasound can be used as an initial imaging modality in the evaluation of acute pelvic pain. To determine sonographic findings in females of reproductive age coming with acute pelvic pain. Objective: To determine Sonographic findings in females of reproductive age with acute pelvic pain. Methodology: Toshiba Xario ultrasound machine with a standard gray scale and Doppler ultrasound convex probe of 3.5 MHz – 7.5 MHz or trans-vaginal probe of 5 MHz - 7.5MHz is used. Both transvaginal and trans-abdominal probes were used in this study. The study was conducted at Ultrasound University Clinic, Township, Lahore. Data of 163 patients was collected through convenient sampling. Statistical software for social sciences (SPSS version 22.0) is used for the analysis of data. Results: A total of 163 patients were examined in the study. The age incidence of the cases in this study varied between 15 years to 45 years. The mean age of the patients in the study was 29.8712 years. The uterine fibroid is most commonly involved in acute pelvic pain and is seen in 30.1% cases followed by simple ovarian cyst in 20.2% cases, hemorrhagic cyst in 14.1% cases. 8.6% cases with pelvic pain have no abnormal sonographic findings. Adenomyosis, PID and endometrial polyp in 4.3% each. Endometrial hyperplasia in 3.1%. Follicular cyst, simple adnexal cyst and complex adnexal cyst in 1.8% each, followed by ovarian endometrioma in 0.6% cases and dermoid cyst in 0.6%. In obstetric patients of acute pelvic pain; RPOCs are most common, constituting 1.8% of total acute pelvic pain, molar pregnancy in 1.2%, ectopic pregnancy in 0.6% patients, subchorionic bleed in 0.6% cases. Conclusion: Ultrasound is a very good modality for acute pelvic pain, as it can easily diagnose and characterize the causes of pelvic pain. The wide availability, radiation free and cost effectiveness makes it a first line investigation in acute pelvic pain. In the present study, the most common cause of pelvic pain is uterine fibroid. Key words: Ultrasound (US), Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), acute pelvic pain, retained products of contraceptives (RPOCs), pouch of Douglas (POD). DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/71-14 Publication date: February 29th 202

COMPARISON OF URINE JET VELOCITY IN VARIOUS GRADES OF HYDRONEPHROSIS IN THE CASE OF URETERIC OBSTRUCTION BY REAL-TIME

Introduction: Hydronephrosis is a common complication of the kidney that is caused by obstruction to kidney ureters and bladder. The renal pelvis and pelvicalyceal system of the kidney become dilated. The obstruction may either be in the upper or lower urinary tract. Upper urinary tract obstruction includes ureteropelvic junction obstruction, renal stone, tumours, and vesicoureteric junction obstruction while lower tract includes benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate tumours posterior urethral valves. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Radiology Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, Pakistan. The study duration was 9 months (September 2020 and May 2021). A total of 120 participants were presented with a history of flank and are suspicious for renal stone causing hydronephrosis. 30 patients were taken as control with no renal disease while 90 were cases having renal disease. Grading of hydronephrosis and Urine jet velocity was recorded by using real-time and spectral doppler ultrasound. Results: A total of 120 participants were included in this study. The mean jet velocity in the normal individuals was recorded as 50.37 ± 6.4 cm/s, however, in patients with mild, moderate, and severe hydronephrosis the mean jet velocity was recorded as 14.23 ± 10.47 cm/s, 7.32± 8.14 cm/s and, 1.5 ± 3.98 cm/s respectively. Conclusion: Urine jet velocity is a good indicator of ureteric obstruction in a patient with various grades of hydronephrosis. The velocity of the urine jet reduced significantly with increasing the severity of hydronephrosis

COMPARISON OF HIGH-RESOLUTION SONOGRAPHY AND COLOUR DOPPLER FLOW IMAGING IN PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH ACUTE SCROTUM

Introduction: One of the most common urological emergency conditions is acute scrotum. Scrotal pain is commonly seen in early adults in the emergency departments with an association of different pathologies. The aim of this study was to determine the comparison of high-resolution sonography and colour Doppler flow imaging in patients presenting with acute scrotum. Material & Methods: A descriptive study was conducted at the Department of Radiology, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. This study enrolled a purposive sample of emergency department patients presenting with acute scrotal pain. The pattern of blood flow, peak systolic velocity, resistive index, pulsatility index, mean and standard deviation were calculated for the continuous variables. Descriptive analyses were performed to investigate the distribution of data. Results: A total of 72 patients were enrolled in our study. The mean age of patients was recorded 36.33±11.66 years. The most common scrotal pathologies that associated with scrotal pain was hydrocele 31(38.8%), followed by varicocele 22(27.5%), testicular torsion 9(11.3%), cyst 8(10.0%), epididymo-orchitis 7(8.8%), pyocele 6(7.5%), orchitis 4(5.0%), increase scrotal wall thickness 3(3.8%), undescended testis 3(3.8%), inguinoscrotal hernia 1(1.3%), testicular atrophy 1(1.3%), rete testis 1(1.3%), hemangioma 1(1.3%), hematoma 1(1.3%), scrotal mass 1(1.3%), testicular microlithiasis 1(1.3%), and normal scrotal sonography 4(5.0%) of cases respectively. Conclusion: High-resolution ultrasonography along with colour and power Doppler should be used as 1st line imaging modality in patients presenting with acute scrotal pain

Biotechnology: a powerful tool for the removal of cadmium from aquatic systems

The prime objective of the present research work was to evaluate the efficiency of bio-machine for the removal of Cadmium (Cd) from aquatic systems. Aspergillus niger fungus was used as bio-machine to remove Cd from aquatic systems. Twenty three different strains (IIB-1 to IIB-23) were isolated from industrial effluents and the Langmuir and Freundlich models were applied to the best Cadmium removal strain IIB-23 in order to obtain the adsorption parameters. Different parameters such as pH, temperatur e, contact time, initial metal concentratio, and biomass dosage on the biosorption of Cd were studied. The percent removal of Cd initially increased with an increase in pH ranging from 5.5-6.5 and then decreased by increasing pH from 7.0-7.5. An optimized pH used for Cd removal from aquatic systems was found to be 6.5. Additionally, an optimum amount of biomass was 1.33 g for the maximum removal of Cd from the aqueous solutions with initial metal concentration of 75 mg/L. The results obtained thus indicated that Langmuir model is the best suited for the removal of Cd from aquatic systems

Rabies molecular virology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment

Rabies is an avertable viral disease caused by the rabid animal to the warm blooded animals (zoonotic) especially human. Rabies occurs in more than 150 countries and territories. According to an estimation by WHO, almost 55,000 people die because of rabies every year. The Dogs are the major reason behind this, approximately 99% human deaths caused by dog's bites. Developing and under developing countries, both are the victims of rabies. With the post-exposure preventive regimes, 327,000 people can prevent this disease annually