Comparison of efficacy of atropine versus atropine with pralidoxime in organophosphorus poisoning

Background: Comparison of the efficacy of atropine alone against atropine with pralidoxime in the treatment of organophosphorus (OP) poisoning.Methods: Forty two patients between the age group of 18 to 65 years, treated for OP poisoning and matched for baseline characteristics, were included in two groupsbased on treatment received as “Atropine only” or “Atropine plus pralidoxime(PAM)”.Main outcomes of the study were ICU stay, total hospital stay and mortality. ICU and hospital stay were compared using ‘t’ test while  mortality was compared using Fisher’s exact test.Results: Total hospital stay was not significantly different between the treatment groups (95% CI of difference: -4.227, 0.784). Length of stay was also not significantly different between patients who received atropine plus PAM within 6 hours of consumption of poison and those who received 6 hours later (95% CI of difference: -4.154, 0.954; p value: 0.2). Conclusion: Our data supports the use of only atropine over atropine plus PAM in patients with OP poisoning on account of no significant difference /reduction of hospital/ICU stay and mortality in the latter group. However, a study with a larger sample needs to be conducted, to be able to draw a definitive conclusion

Scaling Law for Criticality Conditions in Heterogeneous Energetic Materials under Shock Loading

Initiation in heterogeneous energetic material (HEM) subjected to shock loading occurs due to the formation of hot spots. The criticality of the hot spots governs the initiation and sensitivity of HEMs. In porous energetic materials, collapse of pores under impact leads to the formation of hot spots. Depending on the size and strength of the hot spots chemical reaction can initiate. The criticality of the hot spots is dependent on the imposed shock load, void morphology and the type of energetic material. This work evaluates the relative importance of material constitutive and reactive properties on the criticality condition of spots. Using a scaling-based approach, the criticality criterion for cylindrical voids as a function of shock pressure, Ps and void diameter, Dvoid is obtained for two different energetic material HMX and TATB. It is shown that the criticality of different energetic materials is significantly dependent on their reactive properties

Genetic Modification of Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes with a Transdominant Negative Form of Rev: Safety and Toxicity

Overview summary Expression of Rev M10, a transdominant mutant form of the Rev gene, in T cell lines confers resistance to HIV in vitro. Isertion of this Rev M10 gene into PBL appears to be nontoxic and well-tolerated by SCID mice. These results demonstrate that genetic modification of T cells by an antiviral gene can be performed safely and without overt toxicity. This finding encourages the development of therapeutic strategies to genetically protect T cells to prolong their survival in HIV-infected individuals.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63234/1/hum.1995.6.8-997.pd

DESFILE DE LOS BOYS SCOUTS EN LA ALAMEDA DE COLÓN [Material gráfico]

ADQUIRIDA POR EL COLECCIONISTA EN LAS PALMAS G.C.NIÑAS UNIFORMADAS DESFILANDO POR LA ALAMEDA DE COLÓN.Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 201

Evidence-based national vaccine policy

India has over a century old tradition of development and production of vaccines. The Government rightly adopted self-sufficiency in vaccine production and self-reliance in vaccine technology as its policy objectives in 1986. However, in the absence of a full-fledged vaccine policy, there have been concerns related to demand and supply, manufacture vs. import, role of public and private sectors, choice of vaccines, new and combination vaccines, universal vs. selective vaccination, routine immunization vs. special drives, cost-benefit aspects, regulatory issues, logistics etc. The need for a comprehensive and evidence based vaccine policy that enables informed decisions on all these aspects from the public health point of view brought together doctors, scientists, policy analysts, lawyers and civil society representatives to formulate this policy paper for the consideration of the Government. This paper evolved out of the first ever ICMR-NISTADS national brainstorming workshop on vaccine policy held during 4-5 June, 2009 in New Delhi, and subsequent discussions over email for several weeks, before being adopted unanimously in the present form