Partial discharge in medium and high voltage electrical devices

Partial discharges (PD) are small electrical sparks or pulses that occur within the insulation of medium and high voltage electrical devices. These pulses will partially bridge the gap between phase insulation to ground or phase to phase insulation. These discharges erode insulation and eventually result in insulation failure. There are three types of discharges for insulation that are internal discharges, corona and surface discharge

Proportion of hepatitis A and E among chidren with acute viral hepatitis with special reference to differences in their clinico-biochemical parameters: A hospital based study

Background: Hepatitis is a major health problem in both developing and developed countries, with various infective and non-infective causes. Aim: This study aims to estimate the proportion of hepatitis A and E as a causative agent in children presenting with acute hepatitis and to study their clinical and biochemical parameters. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on all children attending or admitted with clinical features of acute hepatitis defined as hepatomegaly, fever >38°C, malaise, dark urine, and/or jaundice. All children included were clinically examined and relevant investigations were sent. All the data were entered in a structured pro forma and statistical analysis was done. Results: A total of 254 patients were studied. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) was the most common with 95.08% of cases and occurred in the age group of ≤5 years. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) was more common in ≥10 years age group and was observed in 13.11% of cases. Common prodromal symptoms in hepatitis patients were fever, anorexia, vomiting, and abdominal pain, observed in 82.5%, 32.5%, 55.5%, and 50.5% of cases, respectively, with no significant difference between HAV and HEV. In liver biochemistry, there was no significant difference in serum bilirubin, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, and serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase values between HAV and HEV. Conclusion: There are no significant differences in both enterically-transmitted hepatitis viruses and the only way to differentiate between them is by serological tests

Demographic Trends of Patients with Compressive Myelopathy in a Developing Asian Country

Study DesignProspective case series.PurposeTo analyze the demographic picture of the patients suffering from compression myelopathy due to various spinal problems. Overview of Literature: There is a lack of literature depicting demographic picture of such patients with spinal injuries as most of the articles have shown the epidemiology of spinal cord injuries either managed conservatively or operatively. None have focused on the patients with compressive myelopathy requiring surgeries.MethodsPatients with spinal pathologies with a neurological deficit due to compressive myelopathy requiring surgical decompression of dorsal and thoracolumbar region were studied. The different kinds of etiologies, the demographic profiles involved, the involvement of various regions of spine in each of the etiologies, sex distribution of different etiologies, association of age and sex with the occurrence of paraplegia, and association of thoracolumbar junction (TLJ) involvement by age and sex were studied. This study addressed the dorsal and TLJ till L2 vertebrae surgically treated by anterior transthoracic transpleural approach.ResultsWith regard to gender, 75% of the females and 67.3% of the males were paraplegic but there was no relationship between gender and the occurrence of paraplegia (p >0.05). There was also no association between TLJ involvement and the age and sex of the patients (p >0.05). Seventy percent of the patients were paraplegic with a mean age of 38.90 years and 30% were paraparetic with a mean age of 43.43 years. Male to female ratio stood at 4.43:1.ConclusionsTraumatic spine in females is increasing. The occurrence of paraplegia and involvement of TLJ is not affected by the age and the sex of the patients. Deep epidemiological understanding of spinal pathologies can lead to a better appreciation of the potential impact of health care management strategies and health policies to prevent and minimize their consequences considering limited worldwide reports on the same

Alterations in Cell-Extracellular Matrix Interactions during Progression of Cancers

Cancer progression is a multistep process during which normal cells exhibit molecular changes that culminate into the highly malignant and metastatic phenotype, observed in cancerous tissues. The initiation of cell transformation is generally associated with genetic alterations in normal cells that lead to the loss of intercellular- and/or extracellular-matrix- (ECM-) mediated cell adhesion. Transformed cells undergo rapid multiplication and generate more modifications in adhesion and motility-related molecules which allow them to escape from the original site and acquire invasive characteristics. Integrins, which are multifunctional adhesion receptors, and are present, on normal as well as transformed cells, assist the cells undergoing tumor progression in creating the appropriate environment for their survival, growth, and invasion. In this paper, we have briefly discussed the role of ECM proteins and integrins during cancer progression and described some unique conditions where adhesion-related changes could induce genetic mutations in anchorage-independent tumor model systems