Why Rural Rich Remain Energy Poor

The paper tries to explore the rationale behind the complexities of energy poverty among different income groups in rural communities. We attempted to understand why rural rich, despite their relatively high purchasing power use energy sources which tend to categorize them as energy poor. Using Energy Poverty Survey (EPS), a dataset of more than 600 rural households from 27 different rural communities of Punjab, Pakistan, we presented energy access situation in rural households among different income groups. Subsequently, we used logit to assess access factors which could impact the energy source choices among different income groups. The insignificance of household income for traditional biomass use and high significance of community remoteness indicators imply that households give high importance on the proximity of energy sources available to them and, in many cases, will prefer to be in the state of energy poor, than to use modern energy source like LPG.energy poverty, rural rich, rural poor, rural communities, Punjab, Pakistan, fuelwood, animal waste, plant waste, kerosene, liquid petroleum gas

Letter to the Editor

Transumbilical hernial laparotomy for a cystic abdominal mas

Machine Learning and Integrative Analysis of Biomedical Big Data.

Recent developments in high-throughput technologies have accelerated the accumulation of massive amounts of omics data from multiple sources: genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, etc. Traditionally, data from each source (e.g., genome) is analyzed in isolation using statistical and machine learning (ML) methods. Integrative analysis of multi-omics and clinical data is key to new biomedical discoveries and advancements in precision medicine. However, data integration poses new computational challenges as well as exacerbates the ones associated with single-omics studies. Specialized computational approaches are required to effectively and efficiently perform integrative analysis of biomedical data acquired from diverse modalities. In this review, we discuss state-of-the-art ML-based approaches for tackling five specific computational challenges associated with integrative analysis: curse of dimensionality, data heterogeneity, missing data, class imbalance and scalability issues

A New Two Parametric Weighted Generalized Entropy for Lifetime Distributions

The concept of weighted generalized entropy and its dynamic residual (version) is developed. The general expressions of these two uncertainty measures corresponding to some well-known lifetime distributions are derived. It is shown that the proposed dynamic entropy determines the survival function uniquely. Some significant properties and inequalities of this dynamic entropy are also discussed

MARIM: Mobile Augmented Reality for Interactive Manuals

In this work, we present a practical system which uses mobile devices for interactive manuals. In particular, there are two modes provided in the system, namely, expert/trainer and trainee modes. Given the expert/trainer editor, experts design the step-by-step interactive manuals. For each step, the experts capture the images by using phones/tablets and provide visual instructions such as interest regions, text, and action animations. In the trainee mode, the system utilizes the existing object detection and tracking algorithms to identify the step scene and retrieve the respective instruction to be displayed on the mobile device. The trainee then follows the displayed instruction. Once each step is performed, the trainee commands the devices to proceed to the next step

Effect of Neodymium: Yttrium-Aluminium-Garnet Laser Posterior capsulotomy on refractive status of the Eye

Objective: To assess the effect of Neodymium: Yttrium-Aluminium (Nd: YAG) laser posterior capsulotomy on the refractive status of the eye.Study Design: Quasi-experimental.Setting: Outpatient department of Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi.Duration: 1st January 2017 to 30th June 2017.Materials and Methods: A total of 95 eyes of 95 patients were included in this study. The patients were selected based on non - randomized convenient sampling. Among these patients 49 were females and 46 were males. The age range was 43 years to 85 years. These patients were those who had undergone uncomplicated cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation 6 months or more than 6 months before presentation with posterior capsular opacification. Before Nd: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy, complete anterior and posterior segment examinations of these patients was performed and they were found to have no other associated anterior or posterior segment pathologies. Autorefractometre reading and best-corrected visual acuity were recorded and then after dilating the pupils, the procedure was performed. Post YAG capsulotomy, Autorefractometre readings were recorded again on the same day, at 1 week and the end of 4 weeks. Readings at the end of 4 weeks were considered for result purposes. These readings were converted into spherical equivalents for data analysis. Results: Data was analyzed through the SPSS version 18. The mean age was 60.14 years with a standard deviation of 9.241. Spherical equivalents were compared before and after YAG capsulotomy. Wilcoxon signed ranks test was applied. P-value (0.70) was found to be statistically insignificant which supported our hypothesis. Conclusion: Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy does not change the refractive status of the eye

Low-Cost Resistivity Meter for Groundwater Exploration Using High Voltage Experimentations

26 March, 2018 Accepted: 17 September, 2019Abstract: Resistivity survey is very well known for the exploration of groundwater and to determine the depth ofbedrock. Generally, in Pakistan local drillers rarely use resistivity meter due to high cost of commercially availableequipment. Therefore, most of the wells for groundwater are drilled without any feasibility survey, which causeseconomic and time loss. An inexpensive resistivity meter has been developed that can help the local community toconduct a survey for groundwater. This designed equipment is handy, portable, easy to operate and can bemanufactured locally. This equipment costs 500 US Dollars (USD), whereas commercially available equipment costs2500 to 50000 USD. The designed portable device comprises of a 12V DC battery, an inverter, multiplier circuit,DPDT switch and electrodes. A 12V DC battery is fed to an inverter to achieve AC supply of 220V. The achieved ACvoltage is rectified to DC-voltage which is further enhanced up-to 1300 volts using voltage multiplier circuit. This highDC voltage is called High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC). HVDC is switched at very low frequency of 1Hz.Automatic switching is being accomplished by means of DPDT relay and its control circuitry. HVDC at low frequencyis applied to the earth through electrodes to determine resistivity for different materials lying inside the ground with apenetration depth of 100 meters. This portable instrument would be useful to map surface lithological layers, determinequality of groundwater and bedrock level in accurate and inexpensive way

Acute kidney injury after congenital heart disease surgery: A single-center experience in a low- to middle-income country

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a commonly recognized clinical problem after congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery. Increased perioperative morbidity, development of chronic kidney disease, and increased mortality are the major concerns. We investigated frequency, risk factors, and outcomes of AKI after CHD surgery at our hospital.Methods: This study was a retrospective analytic review conducted from January 2013 to October 2016 on patients aged between 1 month and 45 years who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) for CHD surgery. The modified Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria based on serum creatinine value was adopted to diagnose AKI. We assessed AKI frequency and its staging, and outcomes as AKI resolution, length of stay, and mortality. Stages II and III (plasma creatinine level two or more times the baseline) were labeled as severe AKI. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted, and results were reported as mean with standard deviation and as frequencies with percentage. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported for factors associated with the development of AKI.Results: Of the 840 patients who underwent CHD surgery, 237 (28%) developed AKI. AKI stages II1 and III were seen in 101 (42%) and 103 (43%) patients, respectively. Prolonged CPB time \u3e 120 minutes (adjusted OR [AOR]: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.22-2.88; p = 0.004) and hemoglobin \u3e 16 gm/dL (AOR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.16-2.78; p = 0.008) were associated with the development of AKI on multivariate analysis. AKI resolved spontaneously in 222 (94%) patients, and 10 (4%) patients who developed AKI died.Conclusions: Most patients with AKI showed spontaneous resolution. Prolonged CPB time and increased hemoglobin were found to be significant risk factors. Our study found spontaneous resolution of AKI in most cases. However, preplanning and careful monitoring in patients with expected prolonged CPB time and increased baseline hemoglobin can prevent and identify AKI at an early stage