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Objectives: To determine the accuracy of ultrasound in diagnosing biliary atresia taking histopathology as gold standard. Design: Cross Sectional Study. Settings: Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Gastroenterology at Children's Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore. Period: Over 1 year from 13-01-2015 to 12-02-2016. Material and Methods: This study involved 210 infants aged between 2-6 weeks referred from outpatient department and emergency of gastroenterology department with suspicion of biliary atresia. Ultrasound of all these cases was carried out and biliary atresia was labeled on a positive triangular cord sign. Core needle biopsy sample was taken from the liver adjacent to the porta hepatis and histopathological examination was done. Results of histopathology were taken as gold standard and results of ultrasonography were judged accordingly as true positive or false positive. A written informed consent was taken from each patient. A predesigned proforma was used to record patient's demographic details along with ultrasound and histopathological diagnosis. Results: The mean age of the patients was 4.31±1.22 weeks. There were 109 (51.9%) male and 101 (48.1%) female patients with a male to female ratio of 1.1:1. Ultrasound was found 97.5% sensitive, 87.7% specific and 95.2% accurate with positive and negative predictive value of 96.31% and 91.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Ultrasound was found extremely sensitive tool for the diagnosis of biliary atresia. Its non-invasive nature and lack of radiation exposure further make it ideal for pre-operative diagnosis in suspected cases in future practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cubic XFeO (X = Sr, Ba) perovskite oxides are studied for their thermodynamic stability in the ferromagnetic phase by using density functional theory calculations. We also explore the elastic properties of these compounds in terms of elastic constants C , bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, anisotropy factor A, Poisson's ratio ν and the B/ G ratio. The electronic properties are examined to elucidate the magnetic order, and the thermoelectric properties of XFeO (X = Sr, Ba) materials are also presented. The modified Becke-Johnson local density approximation scheme has been used to compute the electronic band structure and density of states, which show that these materials are half-metallic ferromagnetic. We study the magnetic properties by computing the crystal field energy (Δ), John-Teller energy (Δ) and the exchange splitting energies Δ( d) and Δ( pd). Our results indicate that strong hybridization causes a decrease in the magnetic moment of Fe, which then produces permanent magnetic moments in the nonmagnetic sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the etiology, diagnosis, treatment and complications of acute pancreatitis in a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: Study Design: It was a descriptive study. The study was conducted at Surgical Unit of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) Rawalpindi from 1st January 2014 to 31 July 2017. All the patients who presented in emergency with abdominal symptoms and diagnosed as a case of acute pancreatitis were included in the study. All the data of gender, age, serum amylase & lipase, etiology, CT severity index, Ranson's criteria, complications, mortality and management were noted on a predesigned proforma. Percentages and frequencies were calculated for all the data by SPSS 21 version. Results: Total 161 patients were included in the study, with 60.9% females and 39.1% males. Maximum patients 31% were from age group of 26 to 40 years of age and minimum 1.2% from 71 to 85 years. Gall stones were the major cause of the disease contributing 67% of cases. At admission Ranson's score of the maximum patients 32.2% had total score of 1, While only 1.2% had moderate pancreatitis. After 48 hours of admission 24.2% had 2 score while only 1.2%had severe pancreatitis. The radiological CT severity index 82.6% patients had mild pancreatitis while1.2% patients had severe disease. 93.1% patients were managed conservatively, 1.9% patients went Cystogastrostomy, 1.2% patients needed Exploratory laparotomy and 1.2% patients went for Pancreatic Necrosectomy. On calculating the morbidity 67.7% patients had no significant morbidity. 32.3% had complications including pleural effusion, ascites, pancreatic necrosis, pseudo cyst formation, shock, acute renal failure and multi organ failure. Overall mortality rate was 3.7%. Conclusion: Acute pancreatitis in our set up is mainly due to gall stones. A multidisciplinary approach, measurement of severity of disease with computerized tomography scan and Ranson's scoring system is always helpful in disease management and its complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]