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Shear modulus (SM) and damping ratio (DR) are significant in seismic design and the performance of geotechnical systems. The evaluation of soil reactions to dynamic loads, such as earthquakes, blasts, train, and traffic vibrations, necessitates the estimation of dynamic SM and DR. The aim of this research is to determine the cyclic parameters of unsaturated soils in and around Peshawar, and how these properties depend upon the varied confining pressures and shear strains. Undisturbed samples were collected using Shelby tubes from five boreholes at different locations along Jamrud Road, Peshawar. The index properties (grain size distribution, plasticity index, and specific gravity) and dynamic properties of these samples were determined. Three samples of 100 mm in height and 50 mm in diameter were obtained from each Shelby tube. After preparing and mounting the sample in the triaxial cell, the sample is first saturated by increasing the cell and back pressures in increments of 50 kPa until the value of Skempton's pore pressure parameter (B) reaches ≥ 0.96. Samples were consolidated at confining pressures of 150, 200, and 300 kPa, then subjected to cyclic shear strains of 0.2, 1, 2, 2.5, and 5%. Shear stress–strain hysteresis loops were plotted, and the values of SM and DR were calculated for each cycle. Generally, at shear strains of 0.2 and 1%, the slope of the loops is steep, and gradually becomes gentler at higher strains of 2, 2.5, and 5%. It is found that, with an increasing number of cycles, the SM and DR decrease. The SM decreases with increasing shear strain, whereas the DR increases at shear strains of 0.2–1%, then decreases for strains of 2, 2.5, and 5%. The confining pressure has more influence at a shear strain of 0.2–1%, while little effect has been observed at a shear strain of 2.2–5%. The values of SM are higher at higher confining pressures at a given shear strain. The results show higher stress values during the initial cycles because of the greater effective stress that developed in response to shear strain while, with an increase in the number of cycles, the pore water pressure gradually increases, thereby reducing the effective stress and weakening the bonds between soil particles. In dynamics, when the confining pressure increases, particles are closer to contact, so the travel paths of waves increase. The energy loss will increase, so DR will decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine the frequency of feeding practices among infants presenting with acute diarrhea. Material and Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out from October 2019 to March 2020 in the Paediatric Out-Patient Department of Khyber Teaching Hospital. Peshawar. Infants with acute diarrhea were included in the study after meeting the inclusion criteria. Sampling was done by consecutive (non-probability) sampling. Sample size was 141 by using WHO sample size calculator, data was statistically analyzed using SPSS v23. Results: Out of 141 infants who presented with acute diarrhea in our study, 26(18.4%) were exclusively breastfed, 79(56%) were partially breastfed, while 36(25.5%) were non breastfed. Out of 141,80(56.7%) were male and 61 (43.3%) were female, with frequency of exclusive breastfeeding in males being 17.5% and in females being 19.7%. The mean age of the infant presenting with diarrhea was 3.25 months, while the mean age of the mother in the study was found to be 26.4 years. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding was 7.7% in working mothers compared to 19.5% in housewives. Conclusion: The most common feeding practice among infants presenting with acute diarrhea is partial breastfeeding which is not as effective as exclusive breastfeeding in preventing and reducing morbidity from diarrheal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forensic science plays a crucial role as a component of the criminal justice system. This study aims to know about the problems police officials are facing in Forensic Criminal Investigation (FCI) in district Peshawar. Quantitative research was carried out by using 50 sample size of male Police Investigation officers through convenience sampling technique and the data was collected through interview schedule. Research findings shows that investigation officers were facing numerous problems in conducting forensic criminal investigation in district Peshawar like problems in forensic training on crime scene; untrained investigator were damaging the physical evidence; lack of Crime Scene Mobile Van. This study recommends for the provision of crime scene mobile van to the investigators, creation of forensic training schools and establishment of Forensic and DNA labswhich is important to maintain the proper low of forensic criminal investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare efficacy of azithromycin alone and in combination with ivermectin against the duration of novel corona virus symptoms. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Shah Care Hospital, Peshawar. Period: April 5, 2020 to May 30, 2020. Material & Methods: Total patients included in the study were 100. Patients were divided into two groups by systematic random sampling: Group A: who received AZM (500mg once a day for 5 days), Group B: who received Ivermectin (12mg once a day for 5 days) and AZM (500mg once a day for 5 days). All the participants were informed to revisit hospital as soon as symptoms (at least two of the mentioned symptoms) like fever, fatigue, sore throat, cough, body aches/myalgia, anosmia/hyposmia, ageusia/hypogeusia and diarrhea disappears at least for 3 days (the actual day on which symptom(s) disappeared was noted). They were also advised to revisit hospital if they feel any inconvenience with the treatment or they notice worsening of the symptoms. The efficacy of the two regimens was based on the duration of disappearance of symptoms. RT-PCR was repeated after 15 days of the diagnosis and on day 21 who came positive on day 15. Results: In group A, the symptoms of 34% patients started to disappear during 3-5 days (mean±SD, 4.86 ± 0.42 days) following therapy, it disappeared during 6-8 days (7.18 ± 0.37) in 28% patients, 22% were symptom free during 9-10 days (10.12 ± 0.12), and 16% took >10 days to become symptom free (12 ± 0.26). Similarly, 52% of group B patient were relieved during 3-5 days (4.01 ± 0.32) of therapy, 36% were symptom free during 6-8 days (6.32 ± 0.14), symptoms of 8% disappeared during 9-10days (9.06 ± 0.25), and 4% took >10 days (11 ± 0.0) to become symptom free. Conclusion: Combination of ivermectin and azithromycin was more effective in making patients symptom free than azithromycin alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To find the frequency of children with ventricular septal defect presenting with congestive cardiac failure. Material and method: This is a cross sectional descriptive study; carried out in a pediatric unit of a tertiary care hospital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar from June 2018 till December 2019. Results: 209 infants and children with ventricular septal defect were enrolled. 146 (69.9%) were males and 63 (30.1%) females. Minimum age of the patient was 0.9 years and maximum age was 8.5 years. Feeding difficulty was found in 90% of patients, dyspnea in 59.8% of patients, repeated chest infection was seen in 49.8%, failure to thrive in 69.9%, tachycardia in 83.3%, displaced apex beat in 59.8%, cardiomegaly in 90%, hepatomegaly in 43.1%, VSD murmur in all 100% of patients and edema was observed in 56.5% and tachypnea in 40.7% of patients with majority of patients presenting with combination of more than three clinical features. Conclusion: Ventricular septal defect is not uncommon in our population. This study proves that the clinical picture of VSD has a big variety and care must be taken while these clinical features are observed in younger age groups or its combination to get the correct diagnosis in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to obtain more information on the MRSA population structure in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, we collected and genotyped MRSA causing bloodstream infections from a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, that serves the local population as well as Afghan immigrants and refugees. Thirty-one MRSA isolates from 30 patients were included and characterized by microarray hybridisation. For 25 patients, serum samples were tested using protein microarrays in order to detect antibodies against staphylococcal virulence factors. The most conspicuous result was the high rate of PVL-positive MRSA. Twenty-two isolates (71%) harboured lukF/S-PV genes. The most common lineage was CC772-MRSA-V/VT (PVL+) to which eleven isolates were assigned. The second most common strain was, surprisingly, CC8-MRSA-[IV+ACME] (PVL+), "USA300" (9 isolates). Two isolates were tst1 positive CC22-MRSA-IV, matching the Middle Eastern "Gaza Epidemic Strain". Another two were PVL-positive CC30-MRSA-IV. The remaining isolates belonged to, possibly locally emerging, CC1, CC5, and CC8 strains with SCC mec IV elements. Twenty-three patient sera were positive for anti-PVL-IgG antibodies. Several questions arise from the present study. It can be assumed that MRSA and high rates of PVL-positive S. aureus/MRSA are a public health issue in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region. A possible emergence of the "USA300" clone as well as of the CC772 lineage warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to assess genotype by environment interaction (GEI) for yield and yield related traits in rice. The genetic material comprised 87 rice F5:7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) along with three check cultivars namely Pakhal, Kashmir Basmati and Fakhr-e-Malakand. The genetic material was planted in alpha lattice design using three replications across different locations namely Peshawar, Swat, Manshera and Charsadda of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan during 2017. Pooled analysis of variance indicated significant (p=0.01) differences among the environments, genotypes and GEI for spikelets panicle-1, grains panicle-1, 1000-grain weight and grain yield. Across four locations, AUP-30 showed the highest number of spikelets panicle-1 (242.5), grains panicle-1 (228.6) and maximum 1000-grain weight (29.0 g). Rice RILs AUP-3, AUP-30 and AUP-29 manifested the higher grain yield of 4.3, 4.2 and 4.1 tonnes ha-1 across locations, respectively. On the basis of individual locations, rice RILs AUP-3, AUP-29, AUP-30 and AUP-40 displayed the highest grain yield of 4.8, 4.6, 5.4 and 3.9 tonnes ha-1 at Peshawar, Swat, Mansehra and Charsadda, respectively. Grain yield displayed significantly positive correlation with spikelets panicle-1, grains panicle-1 and 1000-grain weight. The study indicated differential behavior of the rice RILs for different traits across different environments. Rice RILs AUP-3, AUP-30 and AUP-29 excelled in performance for yield and yield attributes across locations while AUP-3, AUP-29, AUP-30 and AUP-29 displayed adaptation to specific environments of Peshawar, Swat, Mansehra and Charsadda, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the antipyretic and cold sponging versus only antipyretic for treatment of fever. Material and Methods: This Randomize control trial was conducted at pediatrics department Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar - Pakistan, from August 2017 to December 2017.Total sample of 100 patients were selected randomly for study, written informed consent were taken from parents. Patients were divided into two groups. Group A was given only paracetamol while group B was given paracetamol and cold sponging was also applied, then temperature was checked at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes, discomfort was also noted at these intervals. Data was collected by predesigned questionnaire and processed by SPSS 17. Results: Out of total 100 patients 53(53%) were males while 47(47%) females. Mean age was 6.4±2.8 years with minimum of 2 and maximum of 13 years. We had noted that in group B i.e. those who were given antipyretics and applied cold sponging, the decrease of temperature was rapid than those who were given only antipyretics ie. Group A especially in first 30 minutes. Moreover after 2 hours the temperature reached to normal range in both groups but the decrease was more rapid in group B than group A. Conclusion: Fever treated with antipyretic and cold sponging fall faster in the first 30 mint and those treated with only antipyretic the temperature drop was a bit slower but at the end of two hours both reached the same level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to investigate variability, heritability and genetic advance among F5:6 lines of rice for various morphological traits. Thirty-eight lines derived from F5 rice cross combinations along with their 8 parents were planted in a randomized complete block design (RCB) having three replications at The University of Agriculture, Peshawar during 2016 rice crop growing season. Data were taken on some of the morphological traits like number of days to heading (days), number of days to maturity (days), flag leaf area (cm²), culm length (cm), panicle length (cm), primary branches panicle-1 (no.) and secondary panicle branches (no.). Analysis of variance showed highly significant (p = 0.01) differences for parents, F5:6 lines and parents vs F5:6 lines for all the studied traits. Among the F5:6 lines, AUP-304 showed minimum days to heading (91 days) while the F5:6line AUP-361 took minimum days to maturity (118 days). F5:6line AUP-311 exhibited maximum flag leaf area (55 cm²) and maximum culm length (132.3 cm). Maximum panicle length (28.3 cm) among F5:6lines was recorded for AUP-271, whereas, AUP-345 and AUP-322 showed best performance for primary panicle branches (13) and secondary panicle branches (41.3), respectively. High broad-sense heritability estimates were observed for all the studied characters, number of days to maturity (99.6%), culm length (99.4%), flag leaf area (98.9%), days to heading (95.9%), secondary branches panicle-1 (88.3%), panicle length (70.7%) and primary branches panicle-1 (60.6%), respectively. Genetic advance estimation showed that flag leaf area exhibited high genetic advance (40.2%) followed by secondary branches panicle-1 (36.6%) and culm length (31.4%) among studied traits of rice genotypes. On the basis of good performance for early maturity, area of flag leaf and panicle contributing traits like primary and secondary branches panicle-1 F5:6lines AUP-361, AUP-311 and AUP-345, AUP-322 could be advanced further in multi-locations trials to develop new rice genotypes for local cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to highlight the etiology, age, gender and site distribution, treatment options available and complications occurring as a result of condylar fractures in growing children. This retrospective study was carried out on a total of 57 patients from Jan 2008 to Oct 2009 at the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhthunkhwa province of Pakistan. Fifty seven patients were recruited in this study. The male to female ratio was 1.6:1. Fall was the most common cause of condylar fractures i.e., (73.7%). The peak incidence of condylar fracture was high among 6-10 years age group i.e. 26 (45.6%). Forty one patients (71.9%) had unilateral condylar fractures and (28.1%) had bilateral. Maxillomandibular fixation (MMF) was performed in 28 patients (49.2%) to correct occlusal disturbance, minor deviations and to reduce the pain associated with it, while occlusion was disregarded in 29 patients (50.8%) but were put on close follow up. Overall 41 patients (71.9%) were treated successfully with conservative treatment approach but 16 patients (28.1%) have reported after 1-2 years with complications of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) Ankylosis. Among these 10 patients (62.5%) had unilateral TMJ Ankylosis. Gap arthroplasty with disc interpositioning was performed in patients with established complication of temporomandibular joint ankylosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an article about the author's tragic experience brought by the devastation of an earthquake in Peshawar, Pakistan in October 2005. Casualties caused by the disaster in the Kawai village; Impact of landslides on roads leading to several valleys in the country; Sources of relief efforts provided to the victims of the earthquake, including the Women of North West Frontier Province and other non-government organizations.