A United Kingdom survey of surgical technique and handling practice of inguinal canal structures during hernia surgery

Background: Recent trials have assessed the impact of elective nerve division on patient outcome after inguinal herniorrhaphy. The aim of this study was to establish UK surgical practice of handling of structures in the inguinal canal during herniorrhaphy. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of all Fellows (n = 1113) of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI) was performed. The main outcomes were to determine method of inguinal hernia repair and routine practice for intra-operative handling of structures in the inguinal canal. Results: A total of 852 (77%) questionnaires were returned, of which 784 (92%) surgeons performed inguinal herniorrhaphy. Approximately two-thirds (63%) of responding surgeons performed less than 50 procedures per annum and 37% conducted more than 50 procedures annually. Mesh was the preferred method used by 90% of surgeons; 6% used non-mesh, and 4% used other (laparoscopic) methods. Routine practice in relation to the inguinal structures varied by volume of hernia surgery; surgeons who conducted more than 50 procedures annually were more likely to visualize and preserve inguinal nerve structures. However, inconsistency in the answers suggested confusion over anatomy. Conclusion: This is the first UK survey to investigate method of hernia repair and usual handling practice of inguinal canal structures. There was wide acceptance of the use of mesh in inguinal hernia repair, with the majority of UK surgeons favoring an open approach. Surgeons performing high volumes of herniorrhaphy were more likely to preserve, rather than transect, inguinal nerve structures. This variation in practice may confound assessment of long-term neuralgia and other post-herniorrhaphy pain syndromes

Physiological and molecular characterization of in vitro cultures of an endemic medicinal herb, Chlorophytum borivilianum, under abiotic stress

This investigation was carried out to evaluate the effects of abiotic stress on the in vitro cultures of Chlorophytum borivilianum. Regenerated plantlets were re-inoculated on media containing different concentrations of sodium chloride (0, 34.2, 68.4, 136.8 and 171.0 μM) and mannitol (0, 10.6, 21.3, 42.7 and 53.4 μM), and thus subjected to in vitro salinity and drought stress. Both salinity and drought conditions affected all the morphological parameters and decreased growth performance at a higher concentration of sodium chloride and mannitol, respectively. The chlorophyll content decreased with time, while proline and protein content increased in the in vitro stress plant. The control and stress tolerant plantlets were subjected to random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis using 24 random decamers primers. Only 15 RAPD primers showed polymorphism and a total of 52 polymorphic loci were scored. The control plants showed the highest similarity with the drought stress plantlet, while plant under salinity stress showed least similarity. Two groups were generated from the RADP data in the dendrogram after UPGMA cluster analysis based on Jaccard’s similarity estimates for the RAPD data. The 2 dimensional scaling by principal component analysis (PCA) was in agreement with the similarity index.Key words: Abiotic stress, proline, Chlorophytum borivilianum, salinity, mannitol, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

Compression Properties of Polyester Needlepunched Fabric

In the present paper, a study of the effects of fabricweight, fiber cross-sectional shapes (round, hollowand trilobal) and presence of reinforcing materialon the compression properties (initial thickness,percentage compression, percentage thickness lossand percentage compression resilience) of polyesterneedle punched industrial nonwoven fabrics ispresented. It was found that for fabrics with noreinforcing material, the initial thickness,compression, and thickness loss were higher thanfabrics with reinforcing material, irrespectiveoffiber cross-section. Compression resilience datashowed the reverse trend. Initial thickness fortrilobal cross-sectional fabric sample was highestfollowed by round and hollow cross-sectionedpolyester needle punched fabrics. The polyesterfabric made from hollow cross-sectioned fibersshowed the least percentage compression at everylevel of fabric weights. The trilobal cross-sectionedpolyester fabric sample showed higher thicknessloss followed by round and hollow cross-sectionedpolyester fabric samples respectively. The hollowcross-sectioned polyester fabric samples showedmaximum compression resilience followed byround and trilobal cross-sectioned polyestersamples irrespective of fabric weights. The initialthickness increases, but percentage compression,thickness loss and compression resilience decreaseswith the increase in fabric weight irrespective offiber cross-sectional shapes

Anisotropic Dark Energy and the Generalized Second Law of Thermodynamics

We consider a Bianchi type $I$ model in which anisotropic dark energy is interacting with dark matter and anisotropic radiation. With this scenario, we investigate the validity of the generalized second law of thermodynamics. It is concluded that the validity of this law depends on different parameters like shear, skewness and equation of state.Comment: 12 pages, accepted for publication in Phys. Scr. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1008.0692 and arXiv:1106.241

Although feasible, falling renewables costs might not benefit Bangladesh\u27s energy sector\u27s decarbonisation: Is this another ‘debt-fossil fuel production trap’?

Cost of decarbonisation, Energy generation sector, Privatisation, Carbon pricing, Energy investment},abstract = {As Bangladesh strives to transition from a least developed to a developed nation by 2041, a growing population and rising disposable income have spurred a growing middle class, escalating the demand for accessible energy. The government and the private sector have heavily invested in a fossil fuel-centric energy mix to meet this anticipated surge in demand. However, our research challenged this prevailing approach by developing a country-scale scenario-based input-output long-horizon energy planning model for demonstrating the economic viability of decarbonising Bangladesh\u27s electricity generation sector by 2050, with a preference for renewables over fossil fuels, particularly in a low-emissions scenario. This study was among the first to evaluate which was the most recent Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP) with a long-horizon energy planning model and suggested that implementing strategic socio-economic development measures, such as privatisation, deregulation, transparency, energy demand reduction, equitable subsidy removal, and carbon pricing, could yield a 24 % cost reduction for developing a near-zero emissions electricity generation sector by 2050. Despite these potential benefits, current and future policies, entirely influenced by master plans developed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, continue to rely heavily on imported coal, liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, ammonia, and nuclear energy, which raised concerns about the country being entangled in a ‘debt-fossil fuel production trap.’ We recommended a critical re-evaluation of existing energy policies. This caution was grounded in the suggestion that the nation should instead harness in-country resources and explore renewable-rich alternatives within its regional neighbouring countries, steering away from potential geopolitical, economic, and environmental pitfalls.Kumar Biswajit Debnath and Monjur Mourshe