Non-resonant microwave absorption studies of superconducting MgB_2

Non-resonant microwave absorption(NRMA) studies of superconducting MgB_2 at a frequency of 9.43 GHz in the field range -50 Gauss to 5000 Gauss are reported. The NRMA results indicate near absence of intergranular weak links. A linear temperature dependence of the lower critical field H_c1 is observed indicating a non s-wave superconductivity. However, the phase reversal of the NRMA signal which could suggest d-wave symmetry is also not observed.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Rational prescribing practice assessment among resident doctors in a tertiary care teaching hospital: a questionnaire based observational study

Background: One of the important factors in health policy is recognised to be rational use of medicines (RUM). Physicians can influence the health and well-being of patients by prescribing appropriate drug in right doses and they should be taught to prescribe rationally at the earliest of their professional carrier.Methods: This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was carried out in SMHS hospital which is a tertiary-care teaching hospital associated with Government Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.Results: Out of 106 resident doctors enrolled in the study, 96.2% respondents were aware about the term essential medicines of India, and 47.6% had National List of Essential Medicines of India available at their work place. When the participants were questioned about the term RUM only 17% of them responded positively, but majority of the resident doctors (88.67%) were aware about the ingredients of the drugs they use to prescribe. Though only 3.7% of our participating doctors always use essential medicines during their prescription writing but majority of them (96.22%) would always use to inform the patient regarding disease, drug therapy and monitoring of drug therapy.Conclusions: Considering the fact that respondents are future prescribers they should be aware of all aspects about RUM and improper knowledge in certain areas of RUM is a matter of concern that needs to be addressed

Diagnostic errors in paediatric cardiac intensive care

AbstractIntroductionDiagnostic errors cause significant patient harm and increase costs. Data characterising such errors in the paediatric cardiac intensive care population are limited. We sought to understand the perceived frequency and types of diagnostic errors in the paediatric cardiac ICU.MethodsPaediatric cardiac ICU practitioners including attending and trainee physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses at three North American tertiary cardiac centres were surveyed between October 2014 and January 2015.ResultsThe response rate was 46% (N=200). Most respondents (81%) perceived that diagnostic errors harm patients more than five times per year. More than half (65%) reported that errors permanently harm patients, and up to 18% perceived that diagnostic errors contributed to death or severe permanent harm more than five times per year. Medication side effects and psychiatric conditions were thought to be most commonly misdiagnosed. Physician groups also ranked pulmonary overcirculation and viral illness to be commonly misdiagnosed as bacterial illness. Inadequate care coordination, data assessment, and high clinician workload were cited as contributory factors. Delayed diagnostic studies and interventions related to the severity of the patient’s condition were thought to be the most commonly reported process breakdowns. All surveyed groups ranked improving teamwork and feedback pathways as strategies to explore for preventing future diagnostic errors.ConclusionsPaediatric cardiac intensive care practitioners perceive that diagnostic errors causing permanent harm are common and associated more with systematic and process breakdowns than with cognitive limitations.</jats:sec

DEGRADATION, MECHANO-PHYSICAL, AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH REINFORCED POLYESTER COMPOSITES

This research aims to study the effects of degradation on mechanical, physical, and morphological properties of empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber- reinforced polyester composites. The unsaturated polyester resin has been used to produce thermoset polymer composites. The reinforcing effect in composites was evaluated at various fiber loadings, including an overall fiber content (by weight) of 20% and 40%. The mechanical (tensile, flexural, and impact) and physical (density, moisture content, and water absorption) properties were studied before and after the samples were buried in the soil for period of 12 months. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis was conducted to visualize the effect of the quality of adhesion between the fibers and matrix. The soil burial investigation results revealed that EFB fiber-polyester composites showed highest degradation percentage as compared to polyester resin and fiberglass

Reactive nodular fibrous pseudotumor: A rare mesenchymal tumor

Reactive nodular fibrous pseudotumor (RNFP) is a recently described non-neoplastic mesenchymal lesion arising from thegastrointestinal tract, mesentery, or retroperitoneum. It is a rare entity with only a few cases reported in literature so far and is lessaggressive when compared to other mesenchymal lesions such as gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) or fibromatosis. Here, wepresent the case of a 20-year-old female who presented with a huge abdominal mass. Contrast-enhanced computed tomographywas suggestive of pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy and excision of the massin toto along with sleeve gastrectomy and splenectomy. Post-operative histopathology confirmed the entity to be RNFP. This caseillustrates the need for keeping RNFP in mind as a differential diagnosis in a case of large abdominal mass as it has a fairly goodprognosis with no reported recurrence after surgical excision

Concurrent Lateral Condyle Mass Fracture With Olecranon Fracture: A Case Report and Brief Review of Literature

Introduction: There is very limited literature describing the association of lateral condyle mass (LCM) fracture of the distal humerus associated concurrently with olecranon fracture. Herein, a case is reported of a displaced LCM fracture with displaced olecranon fracture, due to complex trauma while getting out of a vehicle, which was managed by open reduction and internal fixation. Case Presentation: A 4.5- year- old boy suffered severe pain and swelling around his right elbow due to trauma which he suffered while trying to get out of a vehicle which was in motion. Plain radiographs of the anteroposterior, lateral, and oblique views showed a displaced lateral mass fracture associated with a displaced olecranon fracture. Open reduction and internal fixation was carried out and near normal function was achieved. Conclusions: In view of the paucity of literature and rare incidence of this injury, this case report highlights the need to be aware of other injuries which can occur in association with LCM fractures in children

Simultaneous single-pulse observations of radio pulsars: II. Orthogonal polarization modes in PSR B1133+16

In this paper, we present a study of orthogonal polarization modes in the radio emission of PSR B1133+16, conducted within the frame of simultaneous, multi-frequency, single-pulse observations. Simultaneously observing at two frequencies (1.41 GHz and 4.85 GHz) provides the means to study the bandwidth of polarization features such as the polarization position angle. We find two main results. First, that there is a high degree of correlation between the polarization modes at the two frequencies. Secondly, the modes occur more equally and the fractional linear polarization decreases towards higher frequencies. We discuss this frequency evolution and propose propagation effects in the pulsar magnetosphere as its origin.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 5 pages, 4 figure