A Spatial Decision Support System for Agricultural Land Management in Maros Region, Indonesia

Land management which is increasingly complex from time to time, land convertion due to increasing population have caused conflicting various interests. Land management models developed to date are less able to answer the problems quickly and dynamically. Maros regency is one of the biggest producers of rice in South Sulawesi Indonesia. Its variability is fairly complex, consisting of coast, low land, and high land. Having a border with Makassar, its population pressure causes a bigger change of land function. It thus needs a model that can provide an optimal solution of land use and land management. The purpose of this research is to develop a model of Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS), which can help spatial decisions for the best land management of food crops,  and to test the validity and sensitivity of the models. In this study, SDSS development methods integrate fuzzy set, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Compromise Programming modules, to produce spatial information on land management. SDSS design utilizes some knowledge input in the operation, including experts who understand the mechanism of the SDSS and its applications. The results of study are in form of spatial distribution of Land Suitability Index (LSI) resulting from land quality assessment. The results can be used to simulate food land management models in various scenarios. Compromised situation between biophysical and non-biophysical parameters provide distribution pattern of values of land management for food crops. Keywords: Spatial Decision Support System, fuzzy set, Analytical Hierarchy Process and Compromise Programmin

Collaborating Diversity of Thought; Need of the Time

Collective wisdom is a synergistic product derived from the diversity of thinking of various individuals having contrasting thoughts, views, opinions and outlook, thus proving essential to bring about qualitative improvements in the vast range of human activities. This paper sheds light on the fact that the human resource must capitalize on the assortment of thoughts and wisdom for overall advancement of the society. Keeping in view the above, different aspects of collaboration with regard to diversity of thought are considered. Detailed analysis elucidates that by elimination of impediments and strengthening of collaborative skills at individual and institutional level may prove remarkably beneficial. Steps should be taken for introducing development of collaborative skills as a training module in the education system to effectuate peace and harmony. Keywords: Collaboration, Diversity, Positive Interdependence, Emotional Intelligence, Capability, Developing Common Understanding

Neurological Improvement after Decompression for Dorsal Spine Tuberculosis (TB)

Objectives:  To assess the neurological improvement after decompression for dorsal spine tuberculosis in terms of Frankel grading. Materials and Method:  Prospective study was done in the Neurosurgery department, Prime Teaching Hospital Peshawar from 2018 to 2021. Patients of both genders aged between 18 to 60 years were selected while those unfit for surgery or requiring conservative management were excluded from the study. After clinical examination and radiological findings, the patients were diagnosed with dorsal spine tuberculosis requiring surgery. All patients were followed for 3 months post-operatively. Neurological improvement was measured by comparing pre and post-op Frankel grading. Complications were also documented. Results:  Out of 38 patients included in the study, 16 (42%) were male and 22 (58%) were female. The mean age of presentation was 34 ± 5. The distribution for age groups was 18 – 30 (08), 31 – 40 (13), 41 – 50 (11), and 51 – 60 (06). Level of disease D4 – D8 were 17 (44.8%) and D9 – D12 was 21 (55.2%). Pre-operative neurological status of the patients was (5.2%) Frankel A, (10.5%) Frankel B, (47.3) Frankel C, (22%) Frankel D, and (7.8%) Frankel E while Post-operative grading was (2.6%) Frankel A, (5.2%) Frankel B, (23.6%) Frankel C, (47.3%) Frankel D and (18.4) Frankel E. 3 patients experienced worsening of neurology, 2 patients bleeding and CSF leak and 1 patient died as a complication of the surgery. Conclusion:  Surgical option involving decompression of spine TB followed by stabilization is utilized in a majority of patients with neurological deficits. It is very effective and the results are good. The main advantage is thorough debridement and achievement of spinal stabilization. Keywords:   Dorsal Spine Tuberculosis, Frankel Grading, Spinal Stabilization

Applying Deep Neural Networks for Predicting Dark Triad Personality Trait of Online Users

© 2020 IEEE. In the recent times, the social networking sites act as a rich source of information, which is shared among online users, who post comments and express their opinions in the form of likes and dislikes. Such content reflects important clues about the personality and behavior of the online community. The dark triad personality traits, such as the psychopathic behavior of individuals, can be detected using computational models. The earlier studies on the dark triad (psychopath) prediction exploit traditional machine learning techniques with limited dataset size. Therefore, it is required to develop an advanced deep neural network-based technique. In this work, we implement a deep neural network model, namely BILSTM for the efficient prediction of dark triad (psychopath) personality traits regarding online users. Experimental results depict that the proposed model attained an improved AUC (0.82) when compared to the baseline study

Calcium levels and metabolic disturbance in renal disease patients receiving hemodialysis: a cross sectional study highlighting its association in dialysis patients

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the disturbances in Calcium and other mineral levels in patients on hemodialysis at Tabba Kidney Institute, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.Methods: A cross sectional observational study through convenient sampling technique was conducted from January 2017 to August 2017 at Tabba Kidney Institute, Karachi after obtaining ethical approval. 255 patients, all above 18 years of age and on hemodialysis were included in the study. Multi-organ failure patients on dialysis, other systemic diseased patients on hemodialysis were excluded. Demographic variables, mineral levels, symptoms and supplementations were recorded. SPSS version 20.0 was used for data analysis.Results: A total of 255 patients on hemodialysis were selected and divided into groups depending upon median years of hemodialysis below and above 5 years of hemodialysis. Median and IQR of calcium were 8.8 and 8.2-9.1 mg/dl for below 5 years, 8.6 and 8.1-9.1 mg/dl for above 5 years (P value=0.44). Median and IQR of phosphate were 4.9 and 3.9-5.7 mg/dl for below 5 years and 4.6 and 3.7-5.5 mg/dl for above 5 years (P value=0.21). Median and IQR of parathyroid hormone were 393 and 212-699 pg/ml for below 5 years and 329 and 128-657 pg/ml for above 5 years. (P value=0.13) Median and IQR of albumin were 4.0 and 3.6-4.2 mg/dl for below 5 years and 4.0 and 3.8-4.3 for above 5 years (P value=0.30). Total of 18 (10.9%) had para thyroidectomy.Conclusions: Present study showed that significant difference in mineral levels did not exist in patients on hemodialysis as regards to the duration of dialysis. However clinical features had a tendency to decrease as duration of dialysis increased to above 5 years. Para thyroidectomy and itching were two main significant findings in this study

Lymphangioma circumscriptum: clinicopathological spectrum of 29 cases

Objective: To describe the clinicopathological spectrum of Lymphangioma Circumscriptum (LC).Study Design: Observational case series.Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, AKUH, Karachi, from 2002 to 2012.Methodology: All reported cases of LC were retrieved from medical record. Clinical and pathological features were noted. Frequency percentages were determined.Results: There were 29 cases of LC predominantly males (62%). The mean age was 27.17 ±15.5 years. The commonest sites was anal/perianal region (24%) followed by extremities (17%) and tongue, (14%). Vulval LC was seen in 3 patients. Two cases were described on scrotum. The lesions were most commonly suspected as viral warts, mole or polyp (in anal region). Vesicles with erosions and bleeding and localized growth were the usual clinical presentations. Four of the patients presented with swelling since birth. All were treated with surgical excision. Microscopic examination revealed acanthotic squamous epithelium with papillomatosis. The subepithelial region had collections of lymphatic channels composed of ectatic dilated vessels with serum and inflammatory cells in their lumina. The lymphatic channels were seen in deeper layers along with lymphocytic aggregates.Conclusion: Lymphangioma circumscriptum is a malformation of abnormal lymphatic channels with feeding cisterns in subcutaneous tissue. It is a benign lesion usually occurring in anal/perianal region and confused with warts. Surgical excision is preferred mode of treatment

Emergence of Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) and Extensively Drug- Resistant (XDR) Typhoid Fever in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh: A Case Series

Salmonella Typhi is a Gram-negative rod which causes enteric fever in humans. The introduction of antibiotics to treat typhoid has considerably improved its outcome, but rising multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) cases due to injudicious use of antibiotics is a matter of grave concern. This case series presents four cases of XDR typhoid fever from a tertiary care centre in northern India. The patients presented in Pediatrics OPD between June 2022 to August 2022, and were admitted and managed in the Pediatrics ward, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, AMU, Aligarh. There were two males and two females with a mean age of 10.5 ± 1.73 years. All the patients presented with fever of more than 10 days duration (median duration of symptom before admission 13 ± 5.74 days, IQR 10.5-20.5) and had been on oral cefixime for enteric fever. But, these patients did not show clinical resolution of fever and other symptoms such as fatigue, weakness etc. After the addition of Azithromycin, patients showed clinical improvement and were subsequently discharged over a period of 6-7 days. We are witnessing rapid emergence of XDR typhi strains across the world particularly in resource limited countries like ours. Azithromycin can be used as safer alternative in both MDR and XDR salmonella bacteremia. Additionally, blood culture should be sent of all suspected patients before start of antibiotics