Pseudo cholinesterase-diagnostic and prognostic value in organophosphorus poisoning

Background: Organophosphorus compound poisoning is a common clinical situation encountered in emergency department. The estimation of pseudo cholinesterase levels in plasma help to identify OP poisoning. Aim of this study was the levels of pseudo cholinesterase in plasma as a diagnostic aid in patients with suspected organophosphorus poisoning and to predict the prognosis and mortality based on pseudo cholinesterase activity.Methods: 390 cases of suspected organophosphorus compound poisoning were selected above 18 years of age. Detailed history and clinical examination were done. The serum levels of enzyme pseudo cholinesterase were estimated on 1st and 3rd and 6th day.Results: 61% were males, 39% were females. Age range 18-55 years. Most of the patients were admitted within 4 hours of consumption. 50% cases were mild, 26% were moderate and 24% were severe cases, Commonest clinical features were vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Common signs were miosis (46%), difficulty in breathing (42%), cold calmmy skin, bradycardia. Patients who survived had raising values of enzyme levels and in patients who expired did not show much increase in enzyme values.Conclusions: In initial stages of poisoning, determining pseudo cholinesterase activity forms a reliable test. In patients who survived had values above 4300 U/L and showed increasing levels on successive days indicating better prognosis. Low values of enzymes in initial stages of poisoning as well as decreasing values on the third day indicate increased mortality

Potential effect of metformin and vildagliptin against isoniazid induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar albino rats

Background: Metformin and vildagliptin both are anti-diabetic agent and they play an important role in diabetic patients as they reduce blood glucose levels. Studies revealed that both metformin and vildagliptin has the ability to promote beta cell neogenesis and regeneration. So, our study was planned to explore the hepatoprotective potential of metformin and vildagliptin in Wistar albino rats exposed to isoniazid (INH) induced hepatotoxicity. Methods: Wistar albino rats weighing 150-180 g were obtained from Mass Biotech, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu. The animals were divided into 6 groups (n=6) and further treated orally against INH-induced hepatotoxicity except normal control group. group 1: normal control, group 2: INH, group 3: metformin+INH, group 4: vildagliptin+INH, group 5: metformin amd vildagliptin+INH, group 6: silymarin. Results: In the present study, INH was administered for 21 days to induce liver damage to rats except normal group. Each group was treated with metformin, vildagliptin, (metformin+vildagliptin) combination and silymarin half an hour before INH challenge. On the 22nd day the blood samples were collected to estimate the AST and ALT levels. Immediately after blood collection the animals were sacrificed, the livers were removed and kept in 10% formalin for histopathological examination. Conclusions: The study found that metformin, vildagliptin, and their combination showed hepatoprotective activity against INH-induced hepatotoxicity. The combination of metformin+vildagliptin was the most effective. Metformin reduces oxidative stress, while vildagliptin balances pro-oxidant and anti-oxidant levels, contributing to their hepatoprotective effects. This suggests their potential usefulness in drug-induced hepatotoxicity

Hybridised sustainability metrics for use in life cycle assessment of bio-based products: resource efficiency and circularity

The development, implementation and social acceptance of resource efficient, circular, bio-based economies require critical understanding of the whole supply chain from feedstock to end-use. Trust, transparency and traceability will be paramount. Though life cycle assessment (LCA) is a universally chosen approach to fulfil this purpose, the nature of data required and the depth of analysis lead to complex interpretations of the findings. Herein, a new set of hybridised, first-line sustainability indicators, drawn from the principles of green chemistry and resource (material and energy) circularity, are reported. These flexible, potentially stand-alone metrics are demonstrated via application to an exemplary comparative LCA, incorporating the hybridised indicators including hazardous chemical use, waste generated, resource circularity and energy efficiency, from the “gate-to-gate” stages for the bio-based case studies and their petro-derived commercial counterparts. These metrics were observed to quantify critical new information relevant to our transition to a circular economy, bridging significant gaps in contemporary environmental impact assessment methodologies. Appropriate additional evaluations that examine the performance of metrics, when the embedded resource efficiency and circularity strategies are omitted, have also been undertaken and reported. The data drawn from employing these methods are crucial to inform and encourage operational optimisation, transparency in sustainability reporting and practices to a significant number of value-chain actors including manufacturers, policy makers and consumers

Uklanjanje obostranog dermoida na bulbarnoj spojnici šteneta pasmine labrador retriver elektrokauterom - prikaz slučaja.

A Labrador retriever pup with a bilateral dermoid in the eyes was treated successfully by the use of a unipolar hand held electrocautery unit.Štene pasmine labrador retriver s obostranim dermoidom u očima bilo je uspješno izliječeno upotrebom jednostranog ručnog elektrokautera

Latent cluster analysis of ALS phenotypes identifies prognostically differing groups

BACKGROUND Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a degenerative disease predominantly affecting motor neurons and manifesting as several different phenotypes. Whether these phenotypes correspond to different underlying disease processes is unknown. We used latent cluster analysis to identify groupings of clinical variables in an objective and unbiased way to improve phenotyping for clinical and research purposes. METHODS Latent class cluster analysis was applied to a large database consisting of 1467 records of people with ALS, using discrete variables which can be readily determined at the first clinic appointment. The model was tested for clinical relevance by survival analysis of the phenotypic groupings using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS The best model generated five distinct phenotypic classes that strongly predicted survival (p<0.0001). Eight variables were used for the latent class analysis, but a good estimate of the classification could be obtained using just two variables: site of first symptoms (bulbar or limb) and time from symptom onset to diagnosis (p<0.00001). CONCLUSION The five phenotypic classes identified using latent cluster analysis can predict prognosis. They could be used to stratify patients recruited into clinical trials and generating more homogeneous disease groups for genetic, proteomic and risk factor research

Direct impacts of off-hour deliveries on urban freight emissions

The most significant negative environmental impacts of urban trucking result largely from travel in congested traffic. To illustrate the potential of innovative solutions to this problem, this paper presents new research on the emission reductions associated with off-hour freight deliveries (OHD). The paper uses fine-level GPS data of delivery operations during regular-hours (6 AM to 7 PM), and off-hours (7 PM to 6 AM), to quantify emissions in three major cities in the Americas. Using second-by-second emissions modeling, the paper compares emissions under both delivery schedules for: reactive organic gases, total organic gases, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter. The results show that the magnitude of the emission reductions depends on the extent of the change of delivery time. In the case of the “Full” OHD programs of New York City and São Paulo—where the deliveries were made during the late night and early morning periods (7 PM to 6 AM)—the emission reductions are in the range of 45–67%. In the case of the “Partial” OHD used in Bogotá (where OHD took place between 6 PM and 10 PM), the reductions were about 13%. The emission reductions per kilometer are used to estimate the total reductions for the cities studied, and for all metropolitan areas in the world with more than two million residents. The results indicate the considerable potential of OHD as an effective—business friendly—sustainability tool to improve the environmental performance of urban deliveries. The chief implication is that public policy should foster off-hour deliveries, and all forms of Freight Demand Management, where practicable

Simulations of idealised 3D atmospheric flows on terrestrial planets using LFRic-Atmosphere

We demonstrate that LFRic-Atmosphere, a model built using the Met Office's GungHo dynamical core, is able to reproduce idealised large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns specified by several widely-used benchmark recipes. This is motivated by the rapid rate of exoplanet discovery and the ever-growing need for numerical modelling and characterisation of their atmospheres. Here we present LFRic-Atmosphere's results for the idealised tests imitating circulation regimes commonly used in the exoplanet modelling community. The benchmarks include three analytic forcing cases: the standard Held-Suarez test, the Menou-Rauscher Earth-like test, and the Merlis-Schneider Tidally Locked Earth test. Qualitatively, LFRic-Atmosphere agrees well with other numerical models and shows excellent conservation properties in terms of total mass, angular momentum and kinetic energy. We then use LFRic-Atmosphere with a more realistic representation of physical processes (radiation, subgrid-scale mixing, convection, clouds) by configuring it for the four TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Atmosphere Intercomparison (THAI) scenarios. This is the first application of LFRic-Atmosphere to a possible climate of a confirmed terrestrial exoplanet. LFRic-Atmosphere reproduces the THAI scenarios within the spread of the existing models across a range of key climatic variables. Our work shows that LFRic-Atmosphere performs well in the seven benchmark tests for terrestrial atmospheres, justifying its use in future exoplanet climate studies.Comment: 34 pages, 9(12) figures; Submitted to Geoscientific Model Development; Comments are welcome (see Discussion tab on the journal's website: https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-647

Probing the Role of Magnetic-Field Variations in NOAA AR 8038 in Producing Solar Flare and CME on 12 May 1997

We carried out a multi-wavelength study of a CME and a medium-size 1B/C1.3 flare occurring on 12 May 1997. We present the investigation of magnetic-field variations in the NOAA Active Region 8038 which was observed on the Sun during 7--16 May 1997. Analyses of H{\alpha} filtergrams and MDI/SOHO magnetograms revealed continual but discrete surge activity, and emergence and cancellation of flux in this active region. The movie of these magnetograms revealed two important results that the major opposite polarities of pre-existing region as well as in the emerging flux region (EFR) were approaching towards each other and moving magnetic features (MMF) were ejecting out from the major north polarity at a quasi-periodicity of about ten hrs during 10--13 May 1997. These activities were probably caused by the magnetic reconnection in the lower atmosphere driven by photospheric convergence motions, which were evident in magnetograms. The magnetic field variations such as flux, gradient, and sunspot rotation revealed that free energy was slowly being stored in the corona. The slow low-layer magnetic reconnection may be responsible for this storage and the formation of a sigmoidal core field or a flux rope leading to the eventual eruption. The occurrence of EUV brightenings in the sigmoidal core field prior to the rise of a flux rope suggests that the eruption was triggered by the inner tether-cutting reconnection, but not the external breakout reconnection. An impulsive acceleration revealed from fast separation of the H{\alpha} ribbons of the first 150 seconds suggests the CME accelerated in the inner corona, which is consistent with the temporal profile of the reconnection electric field. In conclusion, we propose a qualitative model in view of framework of a solar eruption involving, mass ejections, filament eruption, CME, and subsequent flare.Comment: 8 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Environmental impact assessment of wheat straw based alkyl polyglucosides produced using novel chemical approaches

This paper evaluates and quantifies the environmental performance of alkyl polyglucosides sourced from wheat straw (WS-APG), a low-cost and low-ecological impact agricultural residue, compared to that of their commercial counterpart, which is sourced from palm kernel oil and wheat grain (PW-APG). Escalating pressure to consider the environmental sustainability of fossil derived surfactant consumption has driven biosurfactants to become the product of choice within the surfactant market, and a class of ‘plant’ based non-ionic surfactants called alkyl polyglucosides (APG) are particularly prevalent. However, the existing food based feedstock of APG such as coconut oil, palm oil, wheat and corn (in addition to being expensive) will potentially undermine the claimed ‘sustainability’ of the APG products (i.e. the ‘food vs. chemical’ issue). Here, we present the “cradle-to-gate” life cycle impact assessment of a suggested alternative, hybridised APG synthesis technique where the Fisher glycosidation method is supplemented by novel, green chemistry based techniques. This evaluation provides a quantitative insight into direct GHG intensity and other ecological impact indicators, including land use, waste generation and energy consumption. Upon evaluation, the wheat straw-derived pathway delivered GHG-emission savings in the range of 84–98%, compared to that of the palm kernel–wheat grain pathway. Waste generated from the production of unit mass of the product amounted to 0.43 kg and 10.73 kg per kg of WS-APG and PW-APG, respectively. In addition to the above mentioned facts, the ‘cradle–gate’ stages of WS-APG production were also found to consume relatively lower amounts of water and fossil-derived energy. In conclusion, of the two APG production pathways, the suggested ‘hybrid’ pathway using an agricultural residue, wheat straw, was found to be sustainable and to demonstrate better environmental performance