Exploring cardiac vector propagation in acute myocardial infarction: a spatial velocity perspective.

Aims: To objectively characterize the spatial-velocity dynamics of the QRS-loop in the vectorcardiogram (VCG) of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods: VCG was constructed as a space curve directly with three quasi-orthogonal leads I, aVF and V2 recorded by conventional ECG of 25 healthy individuals and 50 AMI patients. Spatial velocity (SV) of the dynamic QRS loop, spatial distance (SD), and spatial magnitude (SM) were recorded, along with axis-specific component attributes of vector magnitude such as ΔX, ΔY, and ΔZ.

Shoulder arthroplasty in the management of native shoulder joint infections has a high complication rate and poor functional outcome - a systematic review.

Background: Shoulder arthroplasty is a treatment option of the sequelae of native shoulder joint infections. However, the functional outcomes and re-infection rates are unknown. The aim of this review was to analyse the outcome of shoulder arthroplasty in patients with native shoulder infections.

Meniscal allograft transplantation in patients with substantial cartilage disease led to a sustained long-term improvement in patient-reported outcome measures.

Purpose: Due to a lack of consensus regarding effective treatment options in young patients, the indications of meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) have widened to include those with substantial cartilage disease. The aim of this study was to report the long-term patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and allograft survival rates for patients with substantial cartilage disease.

Methods: A review of the prospectively maintained database was performed.

Carbon dioxide monitoring during neonatal stabilisation at delivery (COSTA-Neo)-Multi centre observational study.

Background: The data is evolving on exhaled carbon dioxide (ECO) levels for preterm infants requiring stabilisation.

Objectives: To establish the trends of ECO levels during the first 10 minutes of stabilisation in preterm infants at birth.

Methods: We conducted a multi-centre, prospective observational study.

Validity of a wrist-worn consumer-grade wearable for estimating energy expenditure, sedentary behaviour, and physical activity in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury.

Purpose: To evaluate the validity of a consumer-grade wearable for estimating energy expenditure, sedentary behaviour, and physical activity in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Materials And Methods: Fifteen manual wheelchair users with SCI (C5-L1, four female) completed activities of daily living and wheelchair propulsion (2-8 km·h). Wrist-worn accelerometry data were collected using consumer-grade (z-Track) and research-grade (ActiGraph GT9X) devices.

Enhanced Hand Gesture Recognition with Surface Electromyogram and Machine Learning.

This study delves into decoding hand gestures using surface electromyography (EMG) signals collected via a precision Myo-armband sensor, leveraging machine learning algorithms. The research entails rigorous data preprocessing to extract features and labels from raw EMG data. Following partitioning into training and testing sets, four traditional machine learning models are scrutinized for their efficacy in classifying finger movements across seven distinct gestures.

Quadriceps tendon versus hamstring tendon graft for primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials.

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is most commonly performed with hamstring tendon (HT) or bone-patellar tendon-bone (BTB) autografts, although the quadriceps tendon (QT) autograft has recently increased in popularity. This systematic review and meta-analysis review compares QT and HT autografts for primary ACLR with a sole focus on randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

Methods: A prospective protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023427339).

Specialized nutritious foods and behavior change communication interventions during the first 1000 d of life to prevent stunting: a quasi-experimental study in Afghanistan.

Background: Considerable evidence supports the effectiveness of nutritional supplementation with or without nutrition education in preventing stunting in developing countries, but evidence from Afghanistan is scarce.

Objectives: This project aimed to assess the effectiveness of specialized nutritious food (SNF), social and behavior change communication (SBCC) intervention to prevent stunting among children under 2 y during the first 1000 d of life in Badakhshan, Afghanistan.

Methods: We used a community-based quasi-experimental pre-post study design with a control group.

The Effectiveness of Nutritional Interventions Implemented through Lady Health Workers on the Reduction of Stunting in Children under 5 in Pakistan: The Difference-in-Difference Analysis.

In Pakistan, the 2018 National Nutrition Survey reported that 40% of children under five years old were stunted. This study assessed the effectiveness of nutritional supplementation in reducing stunting among children under five years old in two rural districts in Sindh, Pakistan. This was a mixed-method quasi-experimental study comprising intervention and control populations, with 3397 and 3277 children under five years old participating in the baseline and end-line surveys, respectively.

Research priorities of members of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee.

Aims: This study aims to identify the top unanswered research priorities in the field of knee surgery using consensus-based methodology.

Methods: Initial research questions were generated using an online survey sent to all 680 members of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK). Duplicates were removed and a longlist was generated from this scoping exercise by a panel of 13 experts from across the UK who provided oversight of the process.

Unusual liver tumors: spectrum of imaging findings with pathologic correlation.

The liver is a common location for both primary and secondary cancers of the abdomen. Radiologists become familiar with the typical imaging features of common benign and malignant liver tumors; however, many types of liver tumors are encountered infrequently. Due to the rarity of these lesions, their typical imaging patterns may not be easily recognized, meaning their underlying pathologic features may not be discovered or suggested until an invasive biopsy is performed.

Pancreaticoduodenectomy with Para-aortic Lymph Node Dissection for Periampullary Cancer.

There is no consensus on the utility of para-aortic lymph node dissection (PALND) in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for periampullary cancer. The objective of this study was to assess survival in patients who underwent PD with PALND for pancreatic (PAC) and non-pancreatic (non-PAC) adenocarcinoma. All patients who underwent PD and PALND between 2011 and 2019 were reviewed ( = 114).

Evaluation of medication use and polypharmacy in postoperative cardiac patients: The clinical pharmacist's imperative in a public institute of Pakistan.

As a major concern in the healthcare sector, polypharmacy is correlated with an increased risk of potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs), treatment costs and adverse drug reactions (ADR). To assess the prevalence of polypharmacy and its associated factors among postoperative cardiac patients admitted to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), a hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2021 and April 2022. Medication charts of postoperative patients were reviewed for medication utilization and polypharmacy.

The Uncertainty Assessment by the Monte Carlo Analysis of NDVI Measurements Based on Multispectral UAV Imagery.

This paper proposes a workflow to assess the uncertainty of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a critical index used in precision agriculture to determine plant health. From a metrological perspective, it is crucial to evaluate the quality of vegetation indices, which are usually obtained by processing multispectral images for measuring vegetation, soil, and environmental parameters. For this reason, it is important to assess how the NVDI measurement is affected by the camera characteristics, light environmental conditions, as well as atmospheric and seasonal/weather conditions.

Exploring the path to polio eradication: insights from consecutive seroprevalence surveys among Pakistani children.

Introduction: After trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV) cessation, Pakistan has maintained immunity to type 2 poliovirus by administering inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in routine immunization, alongside monovalent OPV type 2 (mOPV2) and IPV in supplementary immunization activities (SIAs). This study assesses the change in poliovirus type 2 immunity after tOPV withdrawal and due to SIAs with mOPV2 and IPV among children aged 6-11 months.

Methods: Three cross-sectional sequential serological surveys were conducted in 12 polio high-risk areas of Pakistan.

A Low-Cost, Integrated Immunization, Health, and Nutrition Intervention in Conflict Settings in Pakistan-The Impact on Zero-Dose Children and Polio Coverage.

Pakistan is one of two countries globally still endemic for poliovirus. While increasing immunization coverage is a concern, providing equitable access to care is also a priority, especially for conflict-affected populations. Recognizing these challenges, , an integrated model of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH), immunization, and nutrition services delivered through community mobilization, mobile outreach, and private-sector engagement was implemented in conflict-affected union councils (UCs) with high poliovirus transmission, including Kharotabad 1(Quetta, Balochistan) and Bakhmal Ahmedzai (Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

Data Management in Multicountry Consortium Studies: The Enterics For Global Health (EFGH) Surveillance Study Example.

Background: Rigorous data management systems and planning are essential to successful research projects, especially for large, multicountry consortium studies involving partnerships across multiple institutions. Here we describe the development and implementation of data management systems and procedures for the Enterics For Global Health (EFGH) surveillance study-a 7-country diarrhea surveillance study that will conduct facility-based surveillance concurrent with population-based enumeration and a health care utilization survey to estimate the incidence of -associated diarrhea in children 6 to 35 months old.

Methods: The goals of EFGH data management are to utilize the knowledge and experience of consortium members to collect high-quality data and ensure equity in access and decision-making.

Association of maternal, obstetric, fetal, and neonatal mortality outcomes with Lady Health Worker coverage from a cross-sectional survey of >10,000 households in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

Pakistan has among the highest rates of maternal, perinatal, and neonatal mortality globally. Many of these deaths are potentially preventable with low-cost, scalable interventions delivered through community-based health worker programs to the most remote communities. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 10,264 households during the baseline phase of a cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan from June-August 2021.

Effect of Maternal and Newborn Care Service Package on Perinatal and Newborn Mortality: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: In resource-constrained settings where the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) is high due to preventable causes and health systems are underused, community-based interventions can increase newborn survival by improving health care practices.

Objectives: To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based maternal and newborn care services package to reduce perinatal and neonatal mortality in rural Pakistan.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cluster randomized clinical trial was conducted between November 1, 2012, and December 31, 2013, in district Rahim Yar Khan in the province of Punjab.

Four-Month High-Dose Rifampicin Regimens for Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Shorter but effective tuberculosis treatment regimens would be of value to the tuberculosis treatment community. High-dose rifampicin has been associated with more rapid and secure lung sterilization and may enable shorter tuberculosis treatment regimens. METHODS: We randomly assigned adults who were given a diagnosis of rifampicin-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis to a 6-month control regimen, a similar 4-month regimen of rifampicin at 1200 mg/d (study regimen 1 [SR1]), or a 4-month regimen of rifampicin at 1800 mg/d (study regimen 2 [SR2]).

Functional composition outweighs taxonomic and functional diversity in maintaining ecosystem properties and processes of mangrove forests.

Biodiversity loss can have significant consequences for human well-being, as it can affect multiple ecosystem properties and processes (MEPP) that drive ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive understanding of the link between environmental factors, biodiversity, and MEPP remains elusive, especially in mangrove ecosystems that millions of people along tropical coastlines worldwide depend upon. Here, we collated a comprehensive dataset on forest inventory, plant traits, and environmental factors across 93 plots in the Sundarbans Reserved Forests, Bangladesh.

A Holistic Strategy of Mother and Child Health Care to Improve the Coverage of Routine and Polio Immunization in Pakistan: Results from a Demonstration Project.

Background: The eradication of poliovirus and improving routine immunization (RI) coverage rates present significant challenges in Pakistan. There is a need for interventions that focus on strengthening community engagement to improve routine immunization coverage. Our primary objective is to assess the impact of an integrated strategy designed to enhance community engagement and maternal and child health immunization campaigns on immunization coverage in Pakistan's high-risk union councils of polio-endemic districts.

Daptomycin MICs by Broth Microdilution Method Against Staphylococcus aureus in Clinical Specimens: A Cross-Sectional Study from Pakistan.

Objective: To explore the distribution of daptomycin (DAP) minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from complicated skin, soft tissue, and bloodstream infections collected from the Pakistani population using broth microdilution (BMD).

Study Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The Aga Khan University Hospital, from May to October 2021.