Pattern and Practice of Paediatric Neurosurgical Procedures- An analysis of one year initial experience at resource challenged setup of Children Hospital, Faisalabad.

patients presenting to Children Hospital, Faisalabad. Materials and Methods:  Retrospective case series of 778 consecutive cases admitted in Pediatric Neurosurgery Department, Children Hospital, Faisalabad over one year (October 2019- September 2020). Patients of age less than 15 years, any gender, admitted in Pediatric Neurosurgery ward for management were included and studied for their demographic data hospital stay, a procedure done and outcome. Results:  A total of 778 patients who required some neurosurgical intervention were admitted, 725 underwent various types of procedures and the remaining were treated conservatively. 320 (44.14%) were male and405 (55.86%) were female. The age range was 20 days to 13 years. The most common diagnosis was hydrocephalous, and then was Meningomyelocele (MMC). The first three common procedures performed included monitoring of Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 36% of cases, Placement of shunt (21%), and placement of external ventricular drain (EVD) in 13% of cases of cerebrospinal fluid (CNS) infections in patients of hydrocephalous. Conclusion:  Pattern of presentation of pediatric neurosurgical cases take in almost all types of diseases like neural tube defects, hydrocephalous, cranial trauma, tumors, cysts, and infections but surgical procedures in routine practice in Faisalabad district cover mainly hydrocephalous and its complications. Endoscopic or advanced procedures are not commonly practiced due to multiple factors but existing constraints do not prevent the best management of pediatric neurosurgery patients

Energy Conservation Techniques to Mitigate the Power Shortage Problem in Pakistan (Case Studies)

The main objective of this research paper is to show benefits of different energy conservation techniques. As a first case study, I performed analysis on University of Gujrat, electrical power system. This case study involves analysis of motors and tube lights installed at the pumping stations and in Engineering Block of UOG respectively, with the help of energy analyzer before and after the installation of required rating capacitors. Power system analysis also done which includes power distribution system losses for example line losses and copper losses of different rating transformers of UOG. Cost and payback period calculation had been done. Second case study is performed on 11 KV Ali Park and Rachna Town feeders to show fruitful results obtained by implementing rehabilitation techniques on the above said feeders. The results showed by adopting energy conservation techniques not only energy is conserved, it also brings other benefits

Implementation of Parallel Synchronization Method of Generators for Power & Cost Saving in University of Gujrat

In the current economic and political scenario of Pakistan where new projects of Electrical generation seems impossible, one should adopt such means so as to minimize the power consumption via load management. In this paper a relatively better Electrical power system is proposed for University of Gujrat (UOG) power system. UOG runs its all generators whether it is full load or merely a load of 20 percent as a standby power. It is suggested that if generators system is synchronized and connected in parallel, it can not only minimize the cost, number of personnel required but also increase the reliability of the system. ETAP software is used for simulation and results show that by adopting this method generation cost can be reduced up to 30 percent which is indeed a huge figure. Losses and cable parameters were calculated using this software and found this proposal quite feasible

Integration of Renewable Energy Resources in Microgrid

Microgrid is a new concept in power generation. The Microgrid concept assumes a cluster of loads and micro sources operating as a single controllable system that provides both power and heat to its local area. Not much is known about Microgrid behavior as a whole system. Some models exist which describe the components of a Microgrid. In this paper, model of Microgrids with steady state and their transient responses to changing inputs are presented. Current models of a fuel cell, microturbines, wind turbine and solar cell have been discussed. Finally a complete model built of Microgrid including the power sources, their power electronics, and a load and mains model in MATLAB/Simulink is presented

Implementation of Nanogrids for Future Power System

Microgrid is a new technology in power generation and this system is used to provide power and heat to its local area, such as cogeneration systems and renewable energy (wind turbines, photovoltaic cells, etc.). They are preferred for medium or high power applications. Nanogrid most likely to be used in small local loads for rural area as they will be more economic then the normal grid power system. Nano grids can operate independently or be connected to the mains and most likely the internal voltage can be utilized as ac or dc. In this research paper a small scale microgrid system is proposed for smart homes called "Nanogrid". Each houses have small electrical power system from them can be shared among houses. If it uses a DC system instead of a general AC system, it can reduce energy loss of inverter because each generator doesn’t need an inverter. Furthermore, it can continue to provide a power supply when blackout occurs in the bulk power system. A model of a nanogrid is developed to simulate the operation of the centralized power control. Finally a Simulink model is presented for small houses power range 90-285 KW

Detection & Distinction of Colors using Color Sorting Robotic Arm in a Pick & Place Mechanism

Color sorting Robot is one of the useful, costless and fastest systems in Industrial applications to reduce manual working time and provides less human mistake when manual system is undertaken. The objective of this project is to design an efficient, microcontroller based system that pick up right color of objects and put it down at right place to optimize the productivity, minimizing the cost of the products and decreasing human mistakes. The controller used is a PIC Microcontroller (18F452) having high speed performance, low cost and 32 K bytes program memory. It communicates with color sensor TCS 3200 and various motor modules in real time to detect the right color object and to control the arm movement. Designed system can pick objects of 1kG weight and arm can rotate up to 3600 . Also, the use of easily available components reduces the manufacturing and maintenance costs. The design is quite flexible as the software can be changed according to specific requirements of the user. This makes the proposed system to be an economical, portable and a low maintenance solution for industrial applications

COVID-19 Pandemic: Influences on the Practice of Neurosurgeons all over Pakistan

Objective:  The aim of this survey was to observe the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on neurosurgery practices during this pandemic, assess various types of adaptations taken by them, protective measures during patient examination and effects on their health, family and socioeconomic life. Material & Methods:  A Questionnaire comprising 32 questions was circulated among practicing Neurosurgeons of Pakistan by social media, e-mails for 8 weeks (January-February 2021) and their responses were analyzed. Results:  108 participants were involved from all over Pakistan. 32% respondents stated reduction in clinical practice to a level of less than 25%. While, 10% reported complete closure of outpatient services during pandemic. There were varied responses on the use of protective measures and most used N95 mask only (31%). Pandemic also affected the research work, finances and leisure time activities. Conclusion:  Our study showed that neurosurgical practice was influenced by COVID-19 pandemic in many aspects in Pakistan. Proper method of protective measures and COVID testing of patients were lacking among them. Neurosurgeons should follow standard guidelines according to institutional directives in local neurosurgical practices so as to avoid being influenced by such crisis.

Synthesis and Characterization of Azo-Guanidine Based Alcoholic Media Naked Eye DNA Sensor

DNA sensing always has an open meadow of curiosity for biotechnologists and other researchers. Recently, in this field, we have introduced an emerging class of molecules containing azo and guanidine functionalities. In this study, we have synthesized three new compounds (UA1, UA6 and UA7) for potential application in DNA sensing in alcoholic medium. The synthesized materials were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, UV-visible, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopies. Their DNA sensing potential were investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy. The insight of interaction with DNA was further investigated by electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry) and hydrodynamic (viscosity) studies. The results showed that compounds have moderate DNA binding properties, with the binding constants range being 7.2 x 103, 2.4 x 103 and 0.2 x 103 M-1, for UA1, UA6 and UA7, respectively. Upon binding with DNA, there was a change in colour (a blue shift in the lambda(max) value) which was observable with a naked eye. These results indicated the potential of synthesized compounds as DNA sensors with detection limit 1.8, 5.8 and 4.0 ng μl-1 for UA1, UA6 and UA7, respectively

Brain Abscesses in Children: A Study of Microbiological Spectrum and Outcome of 80 Cases

Objective:  Brain abscess is a focus of pus in the brain due to infection somewhere else in the body. It is common in males than females and the average age in children ranges from 4 to 7 years. It develops by skull trauma or contiguous or hematogenous spread of infection. The study aimed to identify the pattern of microbiological involvement in the etiology of pediatric brain abscesses and the outcome so as to enable us to ensure definitive treatment with the appropriate and specific antimicrobial regimen. Materials and Methods:  A prospective study was conducted in 80 pediatric patients of brain abscess admitted to the Pediatric Neurosurgery Department, Children Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. Results:  The median age was 5.2 years with a predominance of males (60%). The most common presentation was fever (72.5%) and then fits (35%). Congenital heart disease was the commonest factor in 32% of cases. Streptococcus was a commonly isolated pathogen in 17% cases out of 70% of culture positive cases. Recovery was seen in 70% of cases and the mortality was 7.5%. Conclusion:  Congenital heart disease is the most common causative factor in pediatric brain abscesses and most of the abscesses were found culture negative. There is a pressing need to carry out multicenter studies over a large sample size over extended study duration in developing countries to help establish guidelines in treating pediatric brain abscesses

Identifying Health Resources and Community Perceptions in the Greater New Haven Area

As required by new laws of the Affordable Care Act, non-profit hospitals are required to produce a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) on a triennial basis in order to receive Medicaid funding, among others. Identification of community health assets is now a requirement by the IRS, in order for the hospital to keep their non-profit status. Community asset mapping (CAM) is an important new component of the community health needs assessment required by the Affordable Care Act for non-profit hospitals. CAM allows these hospitals and the communities they serve to identify key fixtures in their communities that can be leveraged to promote better health and well-being, especially when external resources (e.g. grants) are not available. In partnership with Yale New Haven Health and UnitedWay 2-1-1, we compiled health assets from various towns and communities in the broad Connecticut region. They were classified into six broad areas of need. We conducted interviews with community leaders and residents from the Greater New Haven area, more specifically the West River neighborhood. We hoped to gather insight and perceptions of residents about health assets in their area. Lastly, we generated asset heat maps with GIS to visualize health asset service areas and possibly identify areas of need. Our project sought to expand upon the scope of the mandated CHNA to include community input. Outside of the list of health assets, we went a step further to try to identify possible areas of need based on low coverage by assets on the heat maps.https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysph_pbchrr/1028/thumbnail.jp