Aqueous Behaviour of Chitosan

Chitosan, a versatile biopolymer, finds numerous applications in textile processing unit operations such as preparation, dyeing, printing, and finishing. However, the accessibility of this biopolymer by the textile material depends on the viscosity of its solution which in turn is a function of its molecular weight. In this work, therefore, the effect of molecular weight, storage life, presence of electrolyte, and particle size of chitosan on its viscosity was investigated. Chitosan of different molecular weights was synthesized by nitrous acid hydrolysis of parent chitosan solution. The synthesized low molecular weight products were analysed by FTIR spectroscopy. Chitosan of nanoconfiguration was prepared by Ionotropic gelation method and characterized by particle size analyzer. The viscosity of different chitosan solutions was determined using Ubbelohde capillary viscometer. As an extension to this study, the chelation property of chitosan was also evaluated

Optimization of Spot Welding of An Assembly Like B-pillar of a Car For Minimum Distortion, By Sequencing Technique

The aim of this paper is to achieve optimisation of spot welding sequence to minimise the distortion of a sheet metal assembly. The distortion of the assembly involving number of spot welds is different for different sequences of welding The assembly consists of sheet metal components which are joined by using various welding sequence schemes. The components are manufactured in quantity and welding with various sequences. After welding the distortions in an assembly due to welding sequence change are worked out and compaired. The sequence with minimum distortion is suggested a solution for the quality manufacturing with minimum distortion induced in it

Pharmacotherapeutic study of efficacy, safety and prognostic analysis of anti snake venom serum in snake bite patients

Background: Snakebite is a common medical emergency especially in the rural areas. The effective measure to treat most of the manifestations of venomous snake bite is timely administration of anti-snake venom serum (ASVS). Problems associated with ASVS use are lack of evidence for optimal dose schedule and occurrence of hypersensitivity reactions.Methods: A retrospective review of snakebite cases was carried out from record section of a tertiary care teaching hospital from January 2011 to December 2011.Results: Out of total 202 snakebite patients admitted during the study period, age group of 21-30 years (mainly male victims) accounted for highest no. of snakebite cases (25.7%). The mean (±SD) dose of ASVS used was 124 (±112) mL. 11.8% patients had suffered from adverse drug reactions due to ASVS. 7.4% patients required mechanical ventilation. Overall mortality in our study was 9.4%. Mortality was higher (50%) where the time interval between the snakebite and initiation of treatment was >6 hours. Out of total 15 patients who required mechanical ventilation, n=10 (66.6%) patient died.Conclusions: In our study, mean dose of ASVS used was as per WHO guidelines. Less incidence of adverse drug reaction due to ASVS may be because of co-administration of corticosteroids and anti-histaminics. Delay in getting treatment with ASVS, neurotoxic envenomation and respiratory failure, were the risk factors associated with adverse prognosis due to snake bite in our set up

Correlation of diagnostic efficacy of unhealthy cervix by cytology, colposcopy and histopathology in women of rural areas

Background: The objective was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of pap smear and colposcopy and to study the socio demographic parameters of women with unhealthy cervix. Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted from August 2011 – August 2013 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Pap smear was performed by the conventional method and colposcopy was done for all 200 sexually active women who came with complaints of discharge per vagina, inter menstrual or post coital bleeding. Colposcopy results were analysed. Final correlation of pap smear and colposcopy were based on histopathology.Results: There were 200 samples that were suitable for statistical analysis. The sensitivity of colposcopy was 79.37%, specificity 81.02%, positive predictive value 65.79%, negative predictive value 89.52% respectively and accuracy was 80.5%. Pap smear had a sensitivity of 25.4%, specificity of 99.27%, positive predictive value of 94.12%, negative predictive value of 74.32%, and accuracy of 76.0% respectively.Conclusions: Pap smear had a poorer sensitivity compared to Colposcopy but a better specificity than colposcopy. Hence it may be better to utilise both tests as they complement each other in screening of premalignant lesions of cervix

Association of iron deficiency states and febrile seizures in children-a case control study

Background: Iron deficiency being a potentially modifiable and treatable cause of febrile seizures.  Objectives of Study was to identify Iron Deficient States or Anemia in children with febrile seizures as evidenced by low hemoglobin, altered RBC indices and altered Iron profile, and to determine the association of Iron deficiency states or anemia with febrile seizures.Methods: This was a Case control study done between July 2013 to June 2014, on 50 indoor cases of febrile seizures in the age group of 6-60 months and 50 age and sex matched controls (fever without seizure) in department of Paediatrics, Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackrey Medical College (HBTMC) and Dr R.N. Cooper Hospital, Mumbai. Detailed clinical history and examination findings were noted.  Cases and control were investigated with complete blood count, RBC indices, peripheral smear, S. Ferritin, S. Iron and TIBC. SPSS software package was used for statistical analysis. P<0.05 was considered as significant.Results: 74% of cases and 66% of controls had low hemoglobin. MCV was low in 54% of cases and 34% of controls. RDW was raised in 46% of cases and 26% of controls. Iron deficiency anemia was prevalent among both cases and controls. Latent iron deficiency state suggested by low S. Iron and high TIBC in cases and control group was not significant in our study. However statistically significant lower Median S. Ferritin was noted in the febrile seizure group versus the controls (Cases-153.5, Control-173.0, p=0.0195) suggesting significant prevalence of prelatent iron deficiency state among cases.Conclusions: Prelatent iron deficient state in children are more prone for febrile seizures

Drug utilization study of some antibiotic in indoor setting at tertiary care teaching hospital in Central India: a descriptive study

Background: Antibiotics are one of the most important discoveries in the field of medicine and are widely used in reducing the infections. Irrational antibiotic use may result in increased cost of treatment, drug-drug interactions also cause severe adverse reactions. The objective of the study was to determine average number of antibiotics prescribed per prescription, to identify the indication for which antibiotics were commonly used and to determine the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: This was a retrospective observational study. About 300 patients who were prescribed antibiotics were included in the study. The data on antibiotic containing prescriptions from each patient was collected from the inpatient of medicine department. The study was carried out from August 2013 to July 2014.Results: Total 300 prescriptions studied, of which 195 (65%) prescriptions had 2 antibiotics per prescriptions and 105 (35%) prescriptions had more than 2 antibiotics per prescription. It was observed that out of 300 patients, 165 were male (55%) and 135 were female (45%). Fluoroquinolones were most commonly prescribed antibiotics and ciprofloxacin was prescribed mostly. Most of the prescriptions contained polypharmacy. The antibiotics treatment regimens given in most of the patients were without done culture sensitivity test before prescribing, which lead to irrational prescribing.Conclusions: Compliance to adopted treatment guidelines is still a major challenge hence there is an urgent need for following antimicrobial policy

Image enhancement using fusions by Wavelet Transform, Laplacian Pyramid and combination of both.

This paper represents idea of combining multiple image modalities to provide a single, enhanced image is well established different fusion methods have been proposed in literature. This paper is based on image fusion using wavelet transform, laplacian pyramid and combination of laplacian pyramid and wavelet transform method. Images of same size are used for experimentation. Images used for the experimentation are standard images and averaging filter is used of equal weights in original images to burl. Performance of image fusion technique is measured by mean square error, normalized absolute error and peak signal to noise ratio. proposed method is compared with wavelet transform method and laplacian pyramid method, from the performance analysis it has been observed that MSE is decreased in case of all three the methods where as PSNR Increased, NAE decreased in case of laplacian pyramid and Combination of laplacian pyramid and wavelet transform where as constant for wavelet transform method

Water-triggered frontal polymerization

A totally new mode of frontal polymerization (FP) of acrylamide is established which is triggered by the simple addition of a minute, specific volume of water. Experimental conditions under which this mode of polymerization yields linear and water-soluble polyacrylamide were carefully established, paving the way to synthesize commercially pertinent homo- and copolymers. A new redox couple was identified to circumvent the imidization and the ensuing gelation, hitherto associated with FP of acrylamide. Effects of reaction variables such as type and concentration of redox couple and volume of water on measurable parameters of FP such as front velocity, front temperature, shape of front and yield have been studied. Two types of redox couples are reported. Nonplanar frontal regime was observed in few redox couples. We could visually observe helical patterns with naked eyes, while layered patterns were observable under SEM. Additionally, micro-phase separation and heterogeneity in the polymer matrix was observed due to unreacted pockets of monomer which evolve via bulk mode. This nonlinear phenomenon is described

Water Quality Impacts of Naturals Riparian Grasses Part 2: Modeling Effects of Channelization on Sediment Trapping

A methodology is developed to determine expected sediment trapping in riparian vegetative filter strips considering channelization of flow. The framework consists of defining the channel network stochastically, with deposition/detachment in each channel being modeled deterministically. The two approaches were then combined to develop a model which could predict expected trapping efficiencies for vegetative filters under known field conditions. The model was then extended to include conditions such as rainfall on the filter so as to make it applicable to generic field situations. Field and laboratory studies were conducted to collect and estimate data to develop and evaluate the model. sediment concentrations were measured for natural vegetative filters located on a slope of 8.7%, subjected to inflows from upslope bare soil plots. Surface elevations were measured for the filter. Flow networks and channel shapes were defined by applying the digital elevation model to the micro-relief data. Actual distributions and standard fitted distributions for channel flows and channel shapes were developed. Model evaluation was done for selected values of Manning\u27s n to give predicted filter trapping efficiencies within 2% of the observed, indicating model validity. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using the general model and the fitted probability distributions