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Background Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is common in acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and is associated with increased in-hospital mortality rate. Purpose We sought to investigate the association between VF and artery involved in STEMI Methods This is a retrospective observational study of hospitalizations between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019, using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest all-payer public database of hospital care in the United States. Results A total of 138,201 patients were primarily hospitalized for STEMI from 2016 to 2019. Among them 12,318 had right coronary artery (RCA) lesions, 427 had left main (LM) lesions, 2381 had left circumflex (LCx) lesions and 12,765 had left anterior descending (LAD) lesions. Mean age of patients with VF and STEMI was 62 years and that with RCA (63 years), LM (65 years), LCx (62 years), LAD (60 years), p Conclusion Highest in-hospital mortality was observed in patients with STEMI who had VF in LCx, followed by RCA and LM. There was higher occurrence of VF in STEMI involving LM. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Background Heparin administered after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) can cause Heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) leading to bleeding or thromboembolic complications. Despite its low incidence, HIT can lead to increased morbidity and in-hospital mortality. Purpose To study the incidence and periprocedural outcomes of HIT in On-pump vs Off-pump CABG patients. Methods This is a retrospective observational study involving index hospitalizations for CABG between January 1 2016–December 31 2019 from the National Inpatient Sample, the largest all-payer public database of hospital care data in the United States. Our study population included discharged adult patients (≥18 years) hospitalised for CABG using ICD-10 codes (validated in previous studies). Confounders were adjusted using Multivariable Regression Analysis. Results During 2016–2019, there were 100,715 principal hospitalizations for On-pump and 25,956 for Off-pump CABG. Mean age was 74.6±13.2 years. The incidence of HIT in the On-pump cohort was 0.33% (n=333) and 0.33% (n=85) in the Off-pump cohort. The On-pump cohort had 76% (n=76,543) males, 24% (n=24172) females (p Compared to the non-HIT cohort, On-pump HIT cohort had more females (31.2% vs 24%, p=0.02), were older (mean age: 67.2 years vs 65.7 years; p=0.006), had higher CCI of three or higher (65.8% vs 42.8%, p The Off-pump HIT cohort had similar incidence of females (26% vs 27%, p=0.710), were older (mean age: 68 years vs 65.8 years; p=0.045), had higher CCI of three or higher (65.9% vs 43.5%, p Conclusion Our study observed that in-hospital mortality in patients with HIT was significantly high compared to patients without HIT after undergoing On-pump or Off-pump CABG. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Background Cardiac amyloidosis (CA), a restrictive cardiomyopathy that leads to heart failure, is often under-diagnosed in its early-stages, leading to patients being diagnosed with it in advanced stages. Most patients presenting with heart failure are presumed as non-amyloid heart failure due to a lack of awareness. A high degree of clinical suspicion is of paramount importance for early diagnosis and management of CA because the extent of cardiac involvement determines overall prognosis. Purpose Our study highlights the outcomes of HFpEF in patients with and without CA. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study involving principal hospitalizations for HFpEF between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019 from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest all-payer public database of hospital care data in the United States. Our study sample included discharged adult patients (≥18 years) hospitalised for HFpEF using ICD-10 codes validated in previous studies. Confounders were adjusted using multivariable regression analysis. Results During the study period, there were 87,219 index hospitalizations for HFpEF. Among them, 38.3% (n=33405) were males, 61.7% (n=53814) were females, and 0.24% (n=209) had CA. Racial distribution is as follows: 76% Whites, 13.4% Blacks, 6.4% Hispanics, and 4.2% other races. Mean patient age was 74.6±13.2 years, and 68.1% were on Medicare. A total of 59,135 (67.8%) hospitalizations had a Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) of >3, with an in-hospital mortality of 2.5%. Compared to the non-CA cohort, the CA cohort had lower prevalence of diabetes mellitus (8.5% vs 27%, p Compared to the non-CA cohort, patients with CA were less likely to be female (38% vs 61.7%, p3 (74.2% vs 67.8%, p=0.017). Multivariate regression analysis showed that subjects in the CA cohort had significantly increased adjusted odds of in-hospital mortality (aOR=2.2; 95% CI: 1.2–4.4; p=0.017) and cardiogenic shock (aOR=9.5; 95% CI: 5–17.9; p Conclusions Our study illustrates that patients with a history of CA admitted for HFpEF had greater incidence of cardiogenic shock, higher prevalence of renal diseases and cancer with a longer LOS, and higher in-hospital mortality. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Background Association of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) with aortic stenosis (AS) is well known. There is limited data on the association of CA with other valvular heart diseases like aortic regurgitation (AR), mitral stenosis (MS), mitral regurgitation (MR), tricuspid stenosis (TS), tricuspid regurgitation (TR), pulmonary stenosis (PS) and regurgitation (PR). Purpose To assess the associations between valvular heart diseases and cardiac amyloidosis. Methods This is a retrospective observational study from hospitalizations between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest all-payer public database of hospital care data in the United States. We looked into associations between valvular heart diseases (VHD) and CA. Results From 2016 to 2019, a total of 4999 patients with a history of CA, 16,711 MS, 361,864 MR, 380,072 AS, 89,452 AR, 194 TS, 104,151 TR, 853 PS, 13,277 PR were identified. Compared to those without any history of CA, those with a history of CA had significantly higher associations with MR (6.4% vs 1.3%, p Conclusion There was a significantly higher association between CA and MR, AS, TR. Comparatively, patients with CA and MS were younger than those with other VHD. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Background Cardiac Amyloidosis is often misdiagnosed due to its non-specific presenting symptoms. There is a lack of evidence on the clinical outcomes in patients with cardiac amyloidosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Purpose To study periprocedural outcomes in patients hospitalised primarily for TAVR with and without cardiac amyloidosis. Methods This is a retrospective observational study involving index hospitalizations for TAVR between January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019 from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest all-payer public database of hospital care data in the United States. Our study sample included discharged adult patients (≥18 years) primarily hospitalised for TAVR using ICD-10 codes. Confounders were adjusted using multivariable regression analysis. Results During 2016–2019, there were 43270 principal hospitalizations (unweighted sample) identified for TAVR, among them 4999 patients had a history of cardiac amyloidosis. Mean age was 79.3±8.4 years. Among patients hospitalised for TAVR, 54.4% (n=23539) were males, 45.6% (n=19731) were females (p After undergoing TAVR, compared to the non-cardiac amyloidosis cohort, the cardiac amyloidosis cohort had less females (27.8% vs 45.6%, p=0.01), had similar age (mean age: 80.2 vs 79.3; p=0.665), higher incidence of congestive heart failure (CHF) (100% vs 74%, p=0.012), higher mechanical ventilation requirement (11.1% vs 1.5%, p=0.001)) but with a similar length of hospital stay (3.9% vs 3.9%, p=0.99). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that TAVR in cardiac amyloidosis cohort did not significantly increase the odds of in-hospital mortality than the non-cardiac amyloidosis cohort (aOR: 5.2; 95% CI: 0.7, 38.3; p=0.103). However, females had higher odds of mortality post-TAVR compared to males (aOR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.73; p Conclusions After TAVR, cardiac amyloidosis is associated with higher incidence of CHF increased need for mechanical ventilation, similar in-hospital mortality rate in comparison to non-cardiac amyloidosis cohort. There was an increasing trend in the index hospitalizations for TAVR with cardiac amyloidosis from 2016–2019. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

A novel dual-cavity SIW MIMO antenna working for 6.2 GHz frequency is presented in this paper. Presented MIMO antenna is etched on RT duroid substrate (RT5880). RT5880 has dielectric constant of 2.2 and height of 1.6 mm. Presented prototype achieved gain of 7.732 dB. S11 parameter and S12 parameter of MIMO are −37.268 dB −40.721 dB, respectively. ECC is 0.0175 which is less than 0.5. Dimensions of each cavity of MIMO have been taken as 15 × 15 mm. CST MW software has been used for simulation of presented prototype.

Reduction in antenna size by using multi-band radiators play a vital role in the miniaturization of present world wireless handheld devices, as dual band behaviour of the antennas result in the integration of more than one communication standard in a single system and thus, saving the installation space required for separate antennas. In this context, this communication presents a shorted-pin dual band metamaterial inspired microstrip patch antenna array. Under the unloaded conditions, the traditional patch antenna array resonates at 5.8 GHz with gain of 9.8 dBi and bandwidth of 540 MHz. However, when each patch of this traditional antenna array is loaded with split ring resonator (SRR) and a metallic via hole is introduced in the patch, the same antenna array produces an additional resonant frequency in IEEE 802.11b/g/n 2.45 GHz Wi-Fi band with bandwidth and gain of 290 MHz and 5.6 dBi, respectively, while the initial resonant frequency (i.e. 5.8 GHz) gets shifted to IEEE 802.11ac 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, providing the gain and bandwidth of 11.4 dBi and 510 MHz, respectively. The proposed antenna array has been fabricated, and the measured results are presented to validate the proposed array. Moreover, the equivalent circuit of the proposed antenna array has been designed and analyzed to validate the simulated, measured and theoretical results. Attainment of dual band characteristics by incorporating the metamaterial with single band traditional patch antenna array makes this structure novel, as this has been achieved without any extra hardware cost, size and loss of structural planarity. Also, both the frequency bands of this proposed metamaterial inspired antenna array possess considerable gain and bandwidth.

In this paper, a low cross-polarization improved-gain rectangular patch antenna is presented. A patch-ground shorting pin with defected patch structure (DPS) is introduced to suppress the cross-polarization level. A High Reflective Frequency Selective Surface (HRFSS) superstrate is designed and placed over the proposed antenna at an optimized position to intensify the gain. To characterize the unit-cell of the superstrate, its transmission characteristics are extracted and discussed. Integration of the superstrate achieves a beam contraction resulting in a gain enhancement to 10.65 dBi. The proposed antenna has perfect broadside radiation with a cross-polarization level of below &minus, 30 dB in the entire half power beamwidth. The prototype of the antenna exhibits good agreement between experimental and simulated results.

To utilize the manipulation of wave properties by metamaterials, in this paper, a microstrip-fed patch antenna array, loaded with metamaterial superstrate, has been proposed. Under unloaded conditions, the conventional patch antenna array resonates at IEEE 802.16a 5.8 GHz Wi-MAX band with gain of 4.31 dBi and bandwidth of 425 MHz, whereas when each patch of this array is loaded with a metamaterial superstrate, composed with the pair of circular split ring resonators and wire strips, gain and bandwidth approaches to 11.9 dBi and 685 MHz, respectively, which corresponds to gain improvement by 7.6 dBi and bandwidth enhancement of 260 MHz. The proposed antenna is fabricated and tested to compare simulated and measured results. A good compliance is observed between these two results. Equivalent circuit model of the composite structure has been developed and analyzed.

Though a microstrip patch antenna has advantages of low profile and structural planarity, but a single microstrip patch antenna has limitation of low gain and narrow bandwidth. To overcome these problems, multi-layer structures are used. The antenna performance can further be enhanced, if multi-layer structures are designed for array of patch antennas. Moreover, the simultaneous improvement of gain and bandwidth, which are two conflicting parameters, is another challenge. To meet these challenges, this article proposes a microstrip patch antenna array, inspired with a superstrate – comprising of Split Ring Resonators (SRR) and wire strips. Gain and bandwidth of 4.3 dBi and 425 MHz, respectively, is achieved by an unloaded array at IEEE 802.16a 5.8 GHz Wi-MAX band. However, by covering this array with the proposed superstrate, gain and bandwidth of 12.1 dBi and 780 MHz, respectively, is obtained, thus providing the gain improvement of 7.8 dBi and bandwidth enhancement of 355 MHz. Fabrication and testing of the proposed antenna is done for comparing simulated and measured results. Equivalent circuit of this newly devised array has been designed and discussed.

The hyperuricaemia in Gestational diabetes mellitus has been explained to be a component of the metabolic syndrome which reflects insulin resistance and it has been shown to have a positive correlation with the creatinine levels. Gestational hyperuricaemia was found to be significantly associated with a high rate of maternal and foetal complications along with proteinuria and hypertension. Aimed of this study was to evaluate the serum creatinine and uric acid levels in Bangladeshi women with GDM in their second and third trimester of pregnancy. This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH), Mymensingh, Bangladesh from July 2013 to June 2014. Pregnant women, in their second and third trimester, attending the outpatient department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Endocrinology, MMCH, Mymensingh, Bangladesh were enrolled by purposive sampling technique. GDM was diagnosed on the basis of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) as outlined in UN agency WHO criteria 2013. Out of 172 participants, 86 had GDM (Case) and 86 were normoglycemic (control). The mean age of GDM and control groups was 28.6±3.2 and 27.3±3.1 years respectively. The BMI was 26.4±1.5 kg/m² and 26.3±1.3 kg/m². In this study we found serum creatinine levels in GDM cases were significantly (p0.001) increased in both trimesters (1.09±0.16mg/dl and 1.07±0.11mg/dl) compared to those without GDM (0.69±0.16mg/dl and 0.64±0.15mg/dl). Serum uric acid levels in GDM and without GDM in 2nd trimester were (4.47±0.42mg/dl and 4.43±0.63mg/dl respectively) had (p0.05) no significant difference. Serum uric acid levels in GDM cases were significantly (p0.001) higher in third trimesters (4.48±0.41mg/dl) compared to those without GDM (3.52±0.74mg/dl). There was distinct alteration of serum creatinine and uric acid levels in GDM compared to normal pregnancy.

This paper presents a shorted-pin, dual-band, metamaterial-loaded microstrip patch antenna array. Under the unloaded conditions, the traditional patch antenna array resonates at 5.8 GHz with gain of 9.8 dBi and bandwidth of 540 MHz. However, when each patch of this traditional array is loaded with split ring resonator (SRR) and a metallic via hole is made on the patch, the same antenna array also produces an additional resonant frequency in 2.45 GHz Wi-Fi band with bandwidth and gain of 290 MHz and 5.6 dBi, respectively, while the initial resonant frequency (i.e. 5.8 GHz) gets shifted to 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, providing the gain and bandwidth of 11.4 dBi and 510 MHz, respectively. The prototype of this proposed antenna array has been fabricated.

This communication presents a spiral split ring resonator (SSRR) loaded four-element microstrip patch antenna array for 5.8 GHz WiMAX applications. The unloaded antenna array resonates at 5.8 GHz with gain of 7.15 dBi and bandwidth of 480 MHz. Whereas, when the patches of this array are loaded with SSRR, the bandwidth increases to 700 MHz with almost no variation in gain. The proposed antenna array has been designed on 1.48 mm thick FR-4 substrate and simulated in FEM-based HFSS commercial electromagnetic simulator.

In this paper, a series fed, Complementary Split Ring Resonator (CSRR) loaded, microstrip patch antenna array has been presented for 5.5 GHz Wi-Fi applications. The traditional unloaded antenna array resonates at 6 GHz with gain of 7.15 dBi and bandwidth of about 480 MHz. Whereas, when the ground plane under each patch of the same antenna array is loaded with CSRR, the resonant frequency gets shifted to 5.5 GHz, while gain increases to 9.8 dBi. The proposed antenna array has been designed on 1.48 mm thick FR-4 substrate and simulated in Finite Element Method (FEM) based HFSS electromagnetic simulator.

This paper presents a novel approach for bandwidth enhancement and gain improvement of a microstrip patch antenna array for IEEE 802.16a 5.8 GHz Wi-MAX applications. A split ring resonator (SRR) has been designed to load the microstrip patch antenna array. The unloaded antenna array resonates at 5.8 GHz with gain of 4.3 dBi and bandwidth of 425 MHz, whereas when loaded with split ring resonator the gain approaches to 5.7 dBi and bandwidth increases to 610 MHz which corresponds to bandwidth enhancement of 3%. The electrical dimension of the patch is 0.23λ × 0.3λ.

A metamaterial superstrate loaded microstrip patch antenna array has been proposed in this paper. The unloaded array resonates at 5.8 GHz with gain of 4.3 dBi and bandwidth of 425 MHz whereas, when the array is loaded with a metamaterial superstrate, composed of Multiple Split Ring Resonators (MSRR), gain and bandwidth reaches to 8 dBi and 680 MHz, respectively. The transmission line model of the composite structure has also been developed.

A Simple model has been developed with the plausible asumptions, and current terms that thundercloud are set up during thunderstorm activities . The electric field is then estimated for various values of RC time constant for field growth after lightning discharges as observed in the recovery curves of electric field recorded at ground level in Kathmandu Valley. Key words: Plausible asumptions; Thundercloud; Ground level ; Kathmandu Valley Tribhuvan University Journal Volume XVI, 1993 Page: 12-18 Uploaded date: 3 October, 2010

In modern wireless avionic systems like aircraft, radar, missile and satellite communication, demand wideband or multiband antennas to improves the data rate transmission. In this paper, two slotted patches are asymmetrically assembled on a cylindrical thick foam substrate to obtain high gain, wide bandwidth and wide angular coverage for avionic applications. The reported antenna is operating in 3.8 GHz band with a bandwidth of 421 MHz, E-plane –3 dB HPBW of 150° and H-plane HPBW of 62°. The measured realised gain of the antenna is above 6 dBi throughout the operational band. The prototype of the proposed configuration is fabricated and showing good agreement with simulated results.

A compact narrowband non-degenerate dual-mode microstrip filter with square shape cuts is presented. The structure is developed by loading the conventional non-degenerate dual-mode resonator by open circuit stubs at two opposite corners. The filter bandwidth is controlled by only decreasing the higher cutoff frequency of the conventional type. With Square shape cuts, return loss is improved. A 20% fractional bandwidth filter is designed and implemented on FR4 material with 4.4 dielectric constant and 1.6 mm thickness at center frequency of 1.5 GHz with passband of 1.3 GHz to 1.6 GHz. Analysis has been achieved using the IE3D simulator. Experimental results do agree with simulations.

A design of microstrip photonic band gap (PBG) filter is presented in this paper. The band reject filter is compact in structure and provides accurate band gap. The proposed filter has a periodic configuration; the impedance distribution over the length of each period is varied according to a designated sinusoidal function. Both theoretical and experimental results indicate that a bandstop filter with an extremely wide bandwidth can be achieved. Detailed analysis of the frequency response of the PBG filter is carried out in this paper.

In this paper a microstrip patch antenna array, loaded with a pair of Split Ring Resonators (SRR), has been presented. This antenna is designed for IEEE 802.16a 5.8 GHz Wi-MAX applications. A pair of SRR has been etched on the ground plane of the antenna. This loading of SRR provides better matching conditions in the desired frequency band along with improvement in gain and enhancement in bandwidth. The unloaded antenna array resonates at 5.8 GHz with gain and bandwidth of 4.15 dBi and 425 MHz, respectively, whereas when the same antenna array is loaded with split ring resonators, the gain increases to 5.9 dBi and bandwidth reaches to 600 MHz. The electrical length of the patch is 0.23λ × 0.3λ. Suppression of higher harmonics and reduction in mutual coupling between the elements of patch antenna array, due to metamaterial loading, has also been analyzed.

Diabetes mellitus is a common health problem of the world. Iron may be a part of the cause of the disease and its complications. Iron is a trace element which produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) participating through Fenton reaction and that ROS may be a cause to produce oxidative stress and further diabetic complications. The study aims to access the iron and its effect in producing oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic patients. Serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and percentage transferrin saturation are calculated as the index of iron. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is estimated as index of oxidant and vitamin C, vitamin E are measured as index of antioxidants. This is a case control study conducted in the department of Biochemistry in collaboration with department of Medicine at B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Dharan, Nepal. 52 chronic type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 52 age and sex matched normal healthy controls were included in the study. Plasma iron, TIBC, percentage transferrin saturation were found (89.14±30.50 μg/dL), (266.78±48.80 μg/dL), (36.61±14.31%) in diabetic cases as compared to (83.98±24.19 μg/dL), (279.08±40.23 μg/dL), (31.05±10.98%) of healthy controls. A significant increase in MDA level (6.35±1.52 nmol/ml in cases and 4.18±1.12 nmol/ml in controls, p0.001) and significant decrease in vitamin C (0.85±0.19 mg/dL in cases and 1.28±0.21 mg/dL in controls, p0.001) and vitamin E (0.85±0.25 mg/dL in cases and 1.34±0.38 mg/dL in controls, p0.001) were observed.

A modified design of fifth order stepped impedance microstrip low pass filter with increased attenuation rate has been proposed. Results obtained for the proposed design have been compared with the conventional design.

Diagnosis of glioblastoma multiform (GBM) with MRI lacks molecular information and requires a biopsy for pathologic confirmation. The EGFRvIII, is a constitutively active mutant of the EGF receptor, identified in a high percentage of brain cancers and associated with increased invasiveness and resistance, making it a good target to improve imaging and diagnosis. The present study shows that conjugation of near-infrared quantum dot (Qd800) to an anti-EGFRvIII single domain antibody, made of the variable region with an extra cysteine for site-specific conjugation (EG2-Cys), increased its internalization in U87MG-EGFRvIII cells in vitro compared to Qd800 conjugated with the Fc region of the antibody (EG2-hFc) or unconjugated. EG2-Cys also improved the contrast in Near-Infrared Imaging of mice bearing orthotopic glioblastoma. The increased accumulation was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy of brain sections. The specificity of EG2-Cys in brain tumor expressing the EGFRvIII mutant receptor may provide an accurate less invasive diagnosis and determine the level of tumor aggressiveness and resistance.

Medical education has experienced a rapidly changing scenario especially during the past three decades. Teachers training programs have emerged in recent years as a more in depth and comprehensive mechanisms for strengthening instructional skills and formulating assessment techniques among faculty members.The present study was carried out with the aim of assessing effectiveness of teacher training workshop on assessment techniques at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health sciences (BPKIHS), Dharan, Nepal. Methods: In this prospective questionnaire based study, the 26 entry level teachers were enrolled. They were requested to fill the questionnaire before and after the workshop on the assessment techniques at BPKIHS, Dharan.Twenty six teachers majority of whom were entry level teachers comprising of medical, dental, nursing and allied sciences participated in pre- and post test analysis on the various components of written and oral examinations. A two and half days long training was conducted having 9 hours of teaching interactive sessions, 6 hours of group exercises, daily evaluation and 3 hours of presentation by participants. There was high degree of agreement with most topics of the assessment training.There was a significant gain in knowledge (p0.001) by the participants. All the participants (100%) agreed upon the training being informative and learned new things about assessment. More practice session with longer duration with invited resource persons were also suggested for an effective session.Thereis an immense opportunity for a better and comprehensive training in evaluation techniques in medical education..

The present study was undertaken to evaluate differences between urban and rural Nepali populations in terms of hyperglycemia, socioeconomic position (SEP) and hypertension, through a community based survey in Sunsari District, eastern Nepal. Blood glucose levels were measured in participants (N = 2,006) S30 years old from urban and rural communities and were classified according to WHO criteria (1998) into normoglycemia (NGY), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and hyperglycemia (HGY). SEP was assessed by structured health interview along with anthropometric measurements and behavioral variables. Hypertension was classified per Joint National Committee (JNC-VII) criteria. Ten point three percent and 11.9% of subjects in this survey (13.3% urban and 11.0% rural) gave a family history and personal history of diabetes mellitus, respectively. Of urban participants (n = 736) with no history of diabetes 70 (9.5%) had HGY and 143 (19.4%) had glucose intolerance (IFG and IGT). Of rural participants (n = 1,270) 114 (9.0%) had HGY and 176 (13.9%) had glucose intolerance. There was an increasing trend in numbers of cases of hyperglycemia and intolerance with increasing age (chi2 198.2, p0.001), body mass index (BMI) (chi2 35.1, p0.001), SEP (chi2 48.5, p0.001) and hypertension (chi2 130.6, p0.001). Rural participants had a lower odds ratio [0.706; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.455-1.096] of having hyperglycemia than urban participants. Individuals with medium and higher SEP had a lower odds ratio (0.878; CI 0.543-1.868) and higher odds ratio (1.405; CI 0.798-2.474), respectively, compared to individuals with lower SEP of having HGY. Both urban and rural populations are at risk for hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance. Individuals having a medium SEP had lower risk of diabetes mellitus than individuals from lower and higher SEP.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the iodine status of Nepalese school age children by measuring urinary iodine excretion (UIE). A population based cross-sectional study was conducted during November-December 2006 among 1,094 school age children. Spot urine samples were collected from all children and UIE was measured during February to March 2007 by an ammonium persulfate digestion microplate (APDM) method. The median UIE at the national level was 193.10 microg/l, indicating adequate iodine intake in Nepalese schoolchildren. The proportion of the population having UIE below 50 microg/l and below 100 microg/l were 4.5% and 22.0%, respectively. Determination of precision of the method was done following calculation of the inter- and intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV). At low, medium and high concentrations of urinary iodine the intra-assay CVs were 6.3, 1.8 and 1.9%, respectively. The inter-assay CVs for low, medium and high concentrations of urinary iodine were 11.9, 4.9 and 6.2%, respectively. Therefore, current iodine nutrition status is at satisfactory levels in Nepal. An effective monitoring program must be continued to ensure optimal iodine status and prevent the population from developing iodine deficiency disorder (IDD).

Design and analysis of a stepped impedance elliptical microstrip low pass filter has been described in this paper. To improve the frequency response, fractals have been proposed in the conventional design. Simulated and measured results of the conventional as well as the fractal filter have been analyzed.

To assess serum level of Thyroxine (T4), Triiodothyronine(T3) and thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH) in patient with depression.Thirty one clinically diagnosed depressed patients and equal number of healthy, age and sex matched control subjects were included in this study. Ham-D scale was used to classify the degree of depression into mild, moderate and severe grades. The biochemical parameters (T3, T4 and TSH) were estimated using commercially available kits. The data were analyzed by using (SPSS-10 software), one way ANOVA and chi2 test.Female depressed (n=17) cases outnumber the male depressed cases. The distributions of patients in mild, moderate and severe categories were similar. The T3 and T4 level were found to be significantly raised in the moderate depression as compared to the healthy controls. ANOVA with multiple comparisons testing among the patient group showed a significant high TSH level (F3.17) at 5% level of significance. A total of six depressive patients were found to have thyroid abnormalities.This study therefore points towards presence of thyroid dysfunction among the depressive which most often characterized as a "Lower Thyroid Syndrome". Thus inclusion of thyroid screening test among depressive patients may be helpful in proper management of cases.

A number of laboratory tests are used to confirm the diagnosis of multiple myeloma, including M protein in the serum. Since M protein in the serum originate from tumour cells in the bone marrow before circulating in the serum, demonstration of M protein in bone marrow aspirate can be added to the batteries of diagnostic parameters.

Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) is the common health problem in ageing male. Free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced more with advancement of age leads to oxidative stress. This study aims to assess Malondialdehyde (MDA), the marker of lipid peroxidation and vitaminic antioxidants e.g. alpha-Tocopherol (Toc) and Ascorbate (Asc) status in plasma of BPH patients. This is a case control study conducted in Department of Biochemistry in collaboration with Dept of Surgery, BPKIHS. Forty eight (n = 48) confirmed patients of BPH and forty six (n = 46) healthy age matched controls were enrolled. Plasma MDA, Asc and alpha-Toc were estimated. Plasma MDA level showed 4.81 +/- 1.87 nmol/ml in BPH patients compared to 3.69 +/- 1.56 nmol/ml in healthy controls (p0.001). There were significant decrease in plasma alpha-Toc and Asc level which were 0.85 +/- 0.12 mg/dl and 0.93 +/- 0.13 mg/dl in BPH patients compared to 1.37 +/- 0.31 mg/dl and 1.44 +/- 0.38 mg/dl in healthy controls respectively. Inverse correlation of plasma MDA with a- Toc (r = -0.09) and Asc (r = -0.51) was found in BPH patients. There was mild elevation of PSA in BPH patients compared with control but was not statistically significant. Thus, our study showed the evidence of association of oxidative stress in BPH patients.

Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) is a common health problem in aging male. Free radicals and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are produced in overwhelming quantity with advancement of age. When in oxidative stress, these reactive species cause extensive damage to various organ in the body, may be associated with pathogenesis of BPH also. This study aimed at assessing Malondialdehyde (MDA), the marker of lipid peroxidation and anti-oxidants e.g. alpha-Tocopherol and Ascorbate status in plasma in BPH patients. Forty eight (n=48) cases of BPH and forty six (n = 46) healthy age matched controls were enrolled. Plasma MDA level showed 4.81+/-1.87 nmol/ml in cases compared to 3.69+/-1.56 nmol/ml in healthy controls (p0.001). There were significant decrease in plasma alpha-Tocopherol and ascorbate level which were 0.85+/-0.12 mg/dl and 0.93 +/- 0.13 mg/dl in cases compared to 1.37+/-0.31 mg/dl and 1.44+/-0.38 mg/dl in healthy controls respectively. Inverse correlation of plasma MDA with alpha-Tocopherol (r = -0.09, p0.05) and Ascorbate (r =-0.51, p=0.008) was found in BPH patients. There was mild elevation of PSA in BPH patients compared with control but was not statistically significant. Thus, our study showed the evidence of association of oxidative stress in BPH patients.

Cataract is one of the leading causes of blindness in children. There are very few studies from Nepal on pediatric cataract. The present study is an attempt to get information on clinical profile and etiology of cataract in pediatric age group with an emphasis on preventable factors. A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out in a tertiary referral hospital in Eastern region of Nepal. After obtaining detail history, all children upto 14 years of age with cataract underwent examination under slit lamp or the operating microscope. Cataract is broadly classified into traumatic and non-traumatic groups. TORCH test for rubella, random blood sugar, urine reducing substance, chromosomal analysis were done in children with non-traumatic cataract Out of 172 children 34 (88%) had non-traumatic and 65 (12%) traumatic cataract. The mean age was 5.63 +/- 3.59 years and 7.39 +/- 3.94 years in non-traumatic group and traumatic group respectively. 8 (9.82%) patients with non-traumatic cataract were below the age of one year. Among non-traumatic cataract, 42 (37.50%) had hereditary, 9 (8.03%) had systemic syndromes, 5 (4.46%) had cataract due to maternal infection, 3 (2.67%) had metabolic disorder. While 11 (9.82%) cataract were associated with other ocular dysmorphology, cause was not ascertained in 31 (idiopathic). 11 (9.82%) had complicated cataract. 24.1% (n=27) of children with bilateral cataract had nystagmus at the time of presentation to hospital. In traumatic group, play related injuries were more common than household injuries. A very few children were below one year of age at the time of presentation to hospital. Establishing pediatric vision screening program in the primary health posts, genetic counseling, maternal immunization, health education to school children and use of safety glasses are some important measures that could prevent cataract blindness in our children.