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Like many low-income countries, Pakistan is facing children's health problems. The major health problems affecting children in the country are Pneumonia, Diarrhoea, Measles, Malaria and malnutrition. There is much research has already been conducted on biomedical and epidemiological aspects of these health problems, but little is known about the social and cultural dimensions of children's health issues. This paper attempts to propose the sociological research on children's health problems in Pakistan with the emic focus on local context. The proposed future research may mainly be situated in the interpretivist paradigm of qualitative inquiry. Thus, it will contribute in upscaling the very basic understanding of the meaning formed by people about social determinants of prevailing children health problems and their potential hazardous consequences in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Cassia absus is a plant of the family fabaceae with Ayurvedic ethnomedical records. It is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of bronchitis, asthma, cough, conjunctivitis, leucoderma, renal and hepatic diseases, constipation, tumors, venereal ulcer, headache, hemorrhoids and wound healing. Preliminary in vitro and in vivo studies have provided valuable scientific evidence for its use. This review aims to summarize reported pharmacognosy, traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological potential of C. absus while identifying potential areas of further research of plant. Key findings The review comprises literature pertaining to the evidence base therapeutic potential, pharmacognosy and phytochemistry of C. absus spanning from 1935 to 2016 using published articles in peer-reviewed journals, ethno botanical text books, and worldwide accepted scientific databases via electronic search (Elsevier, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Springer, Web of Science, Wiley online library). Kew Botanical Garden databases and the Plant List were used to authenticate the scientific names. Different pharmacological experiments in many in-vitro and in-vivo models have proved the potential of C. absus with antihypertensive, antifertility, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-glycation, antibacterial activity, α- amylase inhibitory activity, antioxidant and reducing activitity etc. chaksine, iso-chaksine, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, chrysophanol, aloe-emodin and a wide range of chemical compounds have also been reported. Toxicity studies reveal the nontoxic nature of C. absus at a dose of 2000 mg/kg, however, plant possess reproductive toxicity and can be used as birth control or abortifacient. Summary Reported activities suggest that there is sufficient pharmacological potential for developing C. absus as a drug for hypertension, infections, diabetes and its complications. However, heterogeneity in study protocol and conflicting results mask the ability to replicate these studies. So, future studies should be replicated in line with best practices. More toxicological studies would aid the progress to clinical trial studies. Various ethno medical uses of C. absus have not been evaluated yet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperuricemia is a metabolic disorder with characteristic elevated serum uric acid. Recently, several plant-based medicines are being used for the treatment of hyperuricemia. The study aimed to find the hypouricemic potential of Berberis vulgaris in in-vitro and in-vivo study models. In in-vitro studies, xanthine oxidase inhibition assay was performed to evaluate IC50 value and capsule absorbance of the drug, respectively. For in-vivo experiment, the study comprised 15 groups of rats. In-vitro results revealed that significant xanthine oxidase inhibition was shown by Berberis vulgaris with an IC50 value of 272.73±.3 μg/mL. Similarly, oral administration of Berberis vulgaris with dosages of 250 and 500 mg/kg decreased serum and liver uric acid levels significantly in a dose- and time-dependent manner in oxonate-induced hyperuricemic rats. Furthermore, 3-day and 7-day administration of Berberis vulgaris showed more potential compared to 1-day administrations. The present study indicated marked hypouricemic effects of Berberis vulgaris in rats. Due to caveat of the small sample size, a firm assumption of the hypouricemic effect of Berberis vulgaris cannot be made. However, extensive study is needed to find out the exact molecular mechanism involved and to translate its effects into clinical trials for the further validation of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phased-array ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation is an effective tool of safety assurance for key structural components. The paper presents a general post-processing methodology for phased-array ultrasonic inspection data. The methodology is developed to integrate three components: mapping of sampling points to structure model, re-sampling from non-uniformly distributed sampling points in phased-array to a uniform volume, and data fusion strategies for multiple channels. An adaptive method called spatially adaptive Gaussian splatting is proposed for data re-sampling and fusion considering the reconstruction resolution and local characteristics of ultrasonic sound paths. This adaptivity provides a viable approach to minimize the effects of under-sampling, over-sampling, and holes which are introduced by the non-uniformly distributed sampling points. The processing of large scale data through segmentation and parallelization techniques is discussed in detail. The effectiveness and performance of the proposed methodology are investigated using actual phased-array ultrasonic testing data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a general method and procedure for fatigue reliability assessment integrating automated ultrasonic non-destructive inspections. The basic structure of an automated ultrasonic inspection system is presented. Fatigue reliability assessment methodology is developed using uncertainty quantification models for detection, sizing, and fatigue model parameters. The probability of detection model is based on a classical log-linear model coupling the actual flaw size with the ultrasonic inspection reported size. Using probabilistic modeling, the distribution of the actual flaw size is derived. Reliability assessment procedure using ultrasonic inspection data is suggested. A steam turbine rotor example with realistic ultrasonic inspection data is presented to demonstrate the overall method. Calculations and interpretations of assessment results based on risk recommendations for industrial applications are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A 3D ultrasonic NDE data reconstruction methodology is developed. [•] A spatially adaptive Gaussian kernel is proposed for data fusion. [•] Automatic damage identification and sizing is developed. [•] A software tool named AutoNDE Rotor is developed. [•] Proposed methods are investigated using realistic ultrasonic inspection data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents a systematic method and procedure for probabilistic fatigue life prediction using non-destructive testing data under uncertainty. The procedure is developed using uncertainty quantification models for detection, sizing, fatigue model parameters and inputs. The probability of detection model is based on a classical log-linear model coupling the actual flaw size with the NDE reported size. Using probabilistic modeling and Bayes theorem, the distribution of the actual flaw size is derived for both NDE data without flaw indications and NDE data with flaw indications. Fatigue damage and structural integrity assessment are suggested based on the developed method and procedure. A turbine rotor example with realistic NDE inspection data is presented to demonstrate the overall methodology. Calculation and interpretation of the results based on risk recommendations for industrial applications are given. The influence of the NDE detection threshold to the assessment results, and error analysis of the assessment results are discussed in detail. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]