Chemical Stabilisation of Sand Part IX: Orthophthalate type Unsaturated Polyester Resin for Inducing Fast setting Behaviour and High Strength

Polymer concrete composites have been made from orthophthalate-type unsaturated polyester resin, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide as initiator, cobalt naphthenate as accelerator and desert sand as filler. Composites preferred using resin (10-25 per cent), initiator (4 per cent) and accelerator (2 per cent) with representative desert sand samples of different particle sizes (0.2-0.02 mm, 2-0.2 mm and 4-2 mm) as filler recorded unconfined compression strength ranging from 4 to 442 kg/cm/sup 2/ after curing at 50 degree centigrade in an oven for 0.5-24 h. Using coarse and fine sand samples with 10 and 15 per cent resin systems the maximum strength of 391 and 326 kg/cm/sup 2/ respectively was attained after 2 h of curing at 50 degree centigrade. The fast setting resin system with strength in this range is quite adequate for the construction of chemically stabilised surfaces, which withstand trafficability of vehicles, operation of helicopters and aircraft's requiring a maximum strength up to 275 kg/cm/sup 2/. These composites may prove useful for rapid repair of roads, helipads and runways damaged during operational activities. A mathematical model has been developed for predicting resin percentage needed for obtaining composite material of requisite strength. The observed and model predicted values have been found to show close agreement

Role of Cartilage as a Graft Material for Tympanic Membrane and in Middle Ear Reconstruction

Abstract Objective: The work was planned to evaluate the results of cartilage graft in the surgical treatment of chronic suppurative otitis media. Study Design: A prospective study. Materials and Methods: The present study was a prospective study of tympanoplasties and tympanomastoid surgeries performed on 100 patients. The main outcome measures were both anatomical and functional in form of graft incorporation and postoperative hearing function. Results: Cartilage was used as tympanic membrane and/or ossicle graft in the cases. There were no immediate postoperative or long term complications of surgery except for 10 cases in which there was a failure of graft uptake. There was a 7.6-decibel (dB) improvement in mean air conduction threshold post-operatively. A mean closure of average air bone gap of 8.4 decibels (dB) was noted which was statistically significant. Conclusion: The cartilage graft is a very effective option for the repair of the conducting mechanism of the ear with good take-up rates, less chances of rejection or extrusion and very few significant complications. The thickness of cartilage creates stiffness that is more resistant than the fascia to the anatomic deformities caused by negative middle ear pressure thus improving the long term integrity of the graft

Intra-Operative Assessment of Cancer with X-Ray Phase Contrast Computed Tomography

X-ray Phase-Contrast Computed Tomography (PC-CT) increases contrast in weakly attenuating samples, such as soft tissues. In Edge-Illumination (EI) PC-CT, phase effects are accessed from amplitude modulation of the x-ray beam using alternating transmitting and attenuating masks placed prior to the sample and detector. A large field of view PC-CT scanner using this technique was applied to two areas of cancer assessment, namely excised breast and esophageal tissue. For the breast tissue, Wide Local Excisions (WLEs) were studied intra-operatively using PC-CT for the evaluation of tumor removal in breast conservation surgery. Images were acquired in 10 minutes without compromising on image quality, showing this can be used in a clinical setting. Longer, higher resolution PC-CT images were also taken, with analysis showing previously undetected thinning of tumor strands. This would allow a second use of the system for “virtual histopathology”, outside of surgery. For the esophagus samples, tissues were taken from esophagectomy surgery, where the lower part of the esophagus is removed, and the stomach relocated. For the assessment of ongoing therapy, accurate staging of tumors in the removed esophagus is essential, with the current gold standard provided by histopathology. PCCT images were acquired on several samples and compare well with histopathology, with both modalities showing similar features. Examples are shown where staging of tumor penetration is possible with PC-CT images alone, which is hoped will be an important step in performing the imaging and staging intra-operatively

Infection, colonization and shedding of Campylobacter and Salmonella in animals and their contribution to human disease: A review

Livestock meat and offal contribute significantly to human nutrition as sources of high‐quality protein and micronutrients. Livestock products are increasingly in demand, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income settings where economies are growing and meat is increasingly seen as an affordable and desirable food item. Demand is also driving intensification of livestock keeping and processing. An unintended consequence of intensification is increased exposure to zoonotic agents, and a contemporary emerging problem is infection with Campylobacter and Salmonella spp. from livestock (avian and mammalian), which can lead to disease, malabsorption and undernutrition through acute and chronic diarrhoea. This can occur at the farm, in households or through the food chain. Direct infection occurs when handling livestock and through bacteria shed into the environment, on food preparation surfaces or around the house and surroundings. This manuscript critically reviews Campylobacter and Salmonella infections in animals, examines the factors affecting colonization and faecal shedding of bacteria of these two genera as well as risk factors for human acquisition of the infection from infected animals or environment and analyses priority areas for preventive actions with a focus on resource‐poor settings

Mahanine exerts in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activity by modulation of redox homeostasis

Earlier we have established a carbazole alkaloid (mahanine) isolated from an Indian edible medicinal plant as an anticancer agent with minimal effect on normal cells. Here we report for the first time that mahanine-treated drug resistant and sensitive virulent Leishmania donovani promastigotes underwent apoptosis through phosphatidylserine externalization, DNA fragmentation and cell cycle arrest. An early induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) suggests that the mahanine-induced apoptosis was mediated by oxidative stress. Additionally, mahanine-treated Leishmania-infected macrophages exhibited anti-amastigote activity by nitric oxide (NO)/ROS generation along with suppression of uncoupling protein 2 and Th1-biased cytokines response through modulating STAT pathway. Moreover, we have demonstrated the interaction of a few antioxidant enzymes present in parasite with mahanine through molecular modeling. Reduced genetic and protein level expression of one such enzyme namely ascorbate peroxidase was also observed in mahanine-treated promastigotes. Furthermore, oral administration of mahanine in acute murine model exhibited almost complete reduction of parasite burden, upregulation of NO/iNOS/ROS/IL-12 and T cell proliferation. Taken together, we have established a new function of mahanine as a potent antileishmanial molecule, capable of inducing ROS and exploit antioxidant enzymes in parasite along with modulation of host’s immune response which could be developed as an inexpensive and nontoxic therapeutics either alone or in combination

A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of azithromycin to reduce mortality and improve growth in high-risk young children with non-bloody diarrhoea in low resource settings: the Antibiotics for Children with Diarrhoea (ABCD) trial protocol

Background Acute diarrhoea is a common cause of illness and death among children in low- to middle-income settings. World Health Organization guidelines for the clinical management of acute watery diarrhoea in children focus on oral rehydration, supplemental zinc and feeding advice. Routine use of antibiotics is not recommended except when diarrhoea is bloody or cholera is suspected. Young children who are undernourished or have a dehydrating diarrhoea are more susceptible to death at 90 days after onset of diarrhoea. Given the mortality risk associated with diarrhoea in children with malnutrition or dehydrating diarrhoea, expanding the use of antibiotics for this subset of children could be an important intervention to reduce diarrhoea-associated mortality and morbidity. We designed the Antibiotics for Childhood Diarrhoea (ABCD) trial to test this intervention. Methods ABCD is a double-blind, randomised trial recruiting 11,500 children aged 2–23 months presenting with acute non-bloody diarrhoea who are dehydrated and/or undernourished (i.e. have a high risk for mortality). Enrolled children in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Pakistan and Tanzania are randomised (1:1) to oral azithromycin 10 mg/kg or placebo once daily for 3 days and followed-up for 180 days. Primary efficacy endpoints are all-cause mortality during the 180 days post-enrolment and change in linear growth 90 days post-enrolment. Discussion Expanding the treatment of acute watery diarrhoea in high-risk children to include an antibiotic may offer an opportunity to reduce deaths. These benefits may result from direct antimicrobial effects on pathogens or other incompletely understood mechanisms including improved nutrition, alterations in immune responsiveness or improved enteric function. The expansion of indications for antibiotic use raises concerns about the emergence of antimicrobial resistance both within treated children and the communities in which they live. ABCD will monitor antimicrobial resistance. The ABCD trial has important policy implications. If the trial shows significant benefits of azithromycin use, this may provide evidence to support reconsideration of antibiotic indications in the present World Health Organization diarrhoea management guidelines. Conversely, if there is no evidence of benefit, these results will support the current avoidance of antibiotics except in dysentery or cholera, thereby avoiding inappropriate use of antibiotics and reaffirming the current guidelines. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03130114. Registered on April 26 2017

Human Nail Plate Modifications Induced by Onychomycosis : Implications for Topical Therapy

Open Access - This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are creditedConclusions: Onchomycotic nails presented a thicker but more porous barrier, and its eroded intracellular matrix rendered the tissue more permeable to topically applied chemicals when an aqueous vehicle was used.Purpose: Through the characterisation of the human onchomycotic nail plate this study aimed to inform the design of new topical ungual formulations.Methods: The mechanical properties of the human nail were characterised using a Lloyd tensile strength tester. The nail’s density was determined via pycnometry and the nail’s ultrastructure by electron microscopy. Raman spectroscopy analysed the keratin disulphide bonds within the nail and its permeability properties were assessed by quantifying water and rhodamine uptake.Results: Chronic in vivo nail plate infection increased human nailplate thickness (healthy 0.49 ± 0.15 mm; diseased 1.20 ± 0.67 mm), but reduced its tensile strength (healthy 63.7 ± 13.4 MPa; diseased 41.7 ± 5.0 MPa) and density (healthy 1.34 ± 0.01 g/cm3; diseased 1.29 ± 0.00 g/cm3). Onchomycosis caused cell-cell separation, without disrupting the nail disulfide bonds or desmosomes. The diseased and healthy nails showed equivalent water uptake profiles, but the rhodamine penetration was 4-fold higher in the diseased nails using a PBS vehicle and 3 -fold higher in an ethanol/PBS vehicle.Peer reviewe