Subcutaneous Phycomycosis in a Child

Subcutaneous phycomycosis is a rare entity. We hereby report a case of subcutaneous phycomycosis in 18 months old female child who presented with a painless, non-tender swelling on the thigh. Skin biopsy showed eosinophilic granuloma lying deep in the subcutaneous tissue, with sparse hyphae. Culture on Sabouraud's dextrose agar showed characteristic colonies. Patient was started on oral potassium iodide. The swelling was completely resolved after one month of treatment

Phase Field Fracture Modeling of Chemically Strengthened Glass

The objective of the report is to implement the phase-field model in the Abaqus standard to compute the fracture properties of a glass strengthened by an ion-exchange process. Implemented the phase-field model which is based on the rate-independent variational principle of diffuse fracture in Abaqus standard software using the UEL and UMAT subroutines. SDVINI subroutine is used to give the residual stress or prestress conditions to simulate the stress profile of strengthened glass. Studied the effect of parameters such as length scale parameter and step size and the optimum parameters are selected. The experimental model of chemically strengthened glass is explained with analytical calculations to compute the stress intensity factor. Studied the effect of depth of the residual stress layer on the stress intensity factor. Stress intensity factor is calculated using the finite element analysis model and the results are compared with the experimental and analytical model

ANTI-ACNE GEL OF ISOTRETINOIN: FORMULATION AND EVALUATION

Objective: Isotretinoin is a very effective drug in the treatment of acne vulgaris by topically. The objective of present study was formulation development of anti-acne gel using Isotretinoine and span 80 for topical delivery to cure nodulosystic acne vulgaris. Furthermore, the comparative study of all the evaluation parameters done with marketed formulation of same drug.Methods: Formulation of anti-acne gel of isotretinoin using Carbopol 940 as a polymer and incorporating isotretinoin in form of topical semi-solid gel using magnetic stirrer, Cremophor RH 40, and butylated hydroxytoluene. Drug was uniformly dispersed in Cremophor RH 40 and the respected solvents. Ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and glycerin were used as solvents in 15% quantity. Further, the formulation was evaluated for physicochemical evaluation of gel formulations. The prepared gel were optimized statistically and characterized for pH, spredability, drug content, viscosity, in vitro diffusion study, acute skin irritation test, and antimicrobial activity. Evaluation test was also compared with marketed formulation of isotretinoin, that is, Sortet gel. The antibacterial and anti-acne activity of different formulations was determined by modified agar well diffusion method on the culture of Propionibacterium acne also compared with marketed formulation.Results: The optimized batch (B10) showed highest spreadability (32.422 g/cm3) in all formulations and also have high percentage of drug contents (95.60%). The spreadability value was 17.998 g/cm3 showing good spreadability. The viscosity of optimized batch was observed less as compared to other formulations, ultimately showed releases also more. In the in vitro diffusion study, B10 batch release 85.69% of the drug as compared to Sotret gel. The antibacterial activity was studied on anaerobic microorganism P. acne, compared with marketed Sortet gel. Optimized batch showed maximum zone of inhibition to P. acne below marketed formulations and standard benzyl peroxide gel.Conclusion: The topical anti-acne gel of isotertinoin was successfully formulated and evaluated for different parameters. The results indicate that the active component, that is, isotertinoin is more effective when subjected in gel formulations and produces effective anti-acne activity in the management of nodulosystic acne vulgaris

Penetration force measurements in the central nervous system with silicon electrodes

One of the major challenges in neural engineering is the tissue damage that occurs during insertion of microelectrodes into the central nervous system. The damage occurs as a result of the dimpling effect that is due to the insertion force. A method which can reduce the penetration force can also reduce dimpling and the resulting tissue damage. There are two objectives in this thesis. One is to measure the penetration force with Michigan electrodes, which are silicon based electrodes. The second is to reduce the penetration force by using mechanical vibrations. First, the penetration force was measured in the rat brain. To measure the penetration force, the microelectrode was connected to a load transducer. Because dura is a tough membrane to penetrate, it is usually removed during surgery in experimental animals. The dura mater was not removed in these experiments in order to keep the intactness of the cortex. The microelectrode was pulsed at a rate of 5 Hz using a piezoelectric crystal and a pulse generator. The results show that the vibration technique is successful in reducing the penetration force by 25%. In this study, we have concentrated only on reducing the penetration force in order to reduce dimpling. To our best knowledge no work has been yet reported on the use of vibrations for reducing electrode penetration force. Chronic experiments will have to be conducted to investigate if the vibrations alone cause any tissue damage

ANALYSIS OF US ACCIDENTS AND SOLUTIONS

Reducing traffic accidents is an essential public safety challenge all over the world; therefore, accident analysis has been a subject of much research in recent decades. The objective of the project is to analyze the US accident data from 50 states to inform the US government agencies and the general public on trends and possible causes of traffic accidents and what could be done to reduce them. The analysis include number of accidents by year, number of accidents by state, best time to travel by month, day and hour, accident-prone area in each state, factors responsible of the accidents like weather, wind flow, temperature, location, etc., deaths in each state, age group of fatalities, drivers involved in accident, drivers age group, vehicles involved in accident, driver with alcohol consumption. The analysis platform is built using Tableau. Government agencies and the general public can leverage these insights and take a preventive measure which can reduce US accidents. The significant findings from the analysis are: (a) most of the accidents are happening in October, November, December; (b) nighttime is safe to travel, (c) a more substantial number of deaths are from drivers in the 20-35 age group; (d) weather, temperature, and location are the factors responsible for 9% of accidents, and (e) about 60% accidents are attributed to drunk driving. The main recommendations from the project focus on Infrastructure, Policy, Administrative, and Human behavior-related changes that can be implemented by the state and the federal government

Association of mental and physical health of first year undergraduate students with ABO blood groups in an Indian urban medical college

Background: Medical students tend to have greater stress levels than the general population. Present study aims to explore mental and physical health of first year medical undergraduate students and association with different ABO blood groups.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 99 first year students were segregated on the basis of ABO blood groups. Mental health was assessed using validated General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). For physical health, height and weight of each student were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated.Results: Study shows higher prevalence of stress (GHQ-12 scores) of 54.6%. There was no statistically significant association of stress levels (GHQ-12 scores) and BMI with various ABO Blood groups using Pearson Chi Square test. On comparison GHQ-12 scores were highest for O blood group students and BMI values were greater in blood group B and O, but not significant. AB blood group had least GHQ-12 scores and BMI. On correlation of GHQ-12 scores with BMI, there was weak positive correlation.Conclusions: Blood groups have no association with mental and physical health status. Interventions in early phase to reduce stress in medical students will reduce incidence of obesity and related health disorders in future

Modeling the interaction between hydraulic and natural fractures using three dimensional finite element analysis

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016Natural fractures are present in almost every formation and their size and density definitely affect the hydraulic fracturing job. Some of the analysis done in the past shed light on hydraulic fracture (HF) and natural fracture (NF) geometries. The interaction of the HF with existing NF in a formation results in a denser fracture network. The volume of rock covering this fracture network is called the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV). This SRV governs the hydrocarbon production and the ultimate revenue generation. Moreover, past studies show that a microseismic interpreted SRV can be different than the actual SRV. Additionally, there is always limited subsurface access, which makes it imperative to understand the HF – NF interaction to plan and execute a successful hydraulic fracturing job. A three layered, three dimensional complex geomechanical model is built using commercially available finite element analysis (FEA) software. A propagating HF approaching mainly orthogonal NF is studied and analyzed. Cohesive pore pressure elements in FEA software capable of modeling fluid continuity at HF – NF intersection are used to model the HF – NF interaction. Furthermore, a detailed sensitivity analysis considering the effect of stress contrast, job design parameters, NF properties, and properties of the formation is conducted. The sensitivity analysis of properties such as principal horizontal stress contrast, job design parameters, NF properties and properties of target formation reveals a broad variation in the impact of the sensitivity parameters on the HF, NF, and HF-NF geometry and interaction. The observations and the corresponding conclusions were based on broadly classified sensitivity parameters. The most important parameters solely for HF resultant geometry are observed to be a high stress contrast with stress reversal, highest injection rate, and farther NF distance from the injection point. The least important parameter is observed to be the scenario with almost equal horizontal stresses. However, the most important parameter solely for resulting NF geometry is only the high stress contrast with stress reversal. Conversely, for the considered sensitivity cases, the least important parameters are the injection rate, lower injection viscosity (10 cP), higher NF leak-off coefficient, target formation thickness, Young’s modulus, and lowest value of target formation Poisson’s ratio. Collective conclusions for considering HF-NF are also obtained.Chapter 1. Introduction -- 1.1. Alaska’s Unconventional Oil and Gas Potential -- 1.2. Need for HF – NF Interaction Research -- 1.3. Outline of Present Research -- 1.4. Summary of Subsequent Chapters -- Chapter 2. Literature review -- 2.1. Hydraulic Fracture Modeling -- 2.1.1. 2D Models -- 2.1.2. 3D Models -- 2.2. Modeling Hydraulic Fractures in the Presence of Natural Fractures -- 2.3. General HF-NF Modeling Approaches -- 2.4. Commercial Software Based HF-NF Modeling Approaches -- 2.4.1. Abaqus -- 2.4.2. Unconventional Fracture Modeling (UFM) -- 2.4.3. COMSOL -- 2.4.4. FLAC 3D -- 2.4.5. Combinational Approaches -- Chapter 3. Modeling the interaction between hydraulic and natural fractures using three dimensional finite element analysis -- 3.1. Model Construction -- 3.2. Theory -- 3.2.1. Modeling the Rock Matrix -- 3.2.2. Modeling Fluid Flow -- 3.2.3. Modeling Deformation and Damage -- 3.3. Model Validation -- 3.4. Base Case -- 3.5. Sensitivity Analysis -- 3.5.1. Effect of In-Plane Stress Contrast -- 3.5.2 Effect of Job Design Parameters -- 3.5.2.1. Effect of Injection Rate -- 3.5.2.2. Effect of Injection Fluid Viscosity -- 3.5.3. Effect of NF Properties -- 3.5.3.1. Effect of NF Strength -- 3.5.3.2. Effect of NF Positioning -- 3.5.3.3. Effect of NF Orientation -- 3.5.3.4. Effect of NF Leak-off Coefficient -- 3.5.4. Effect of Formation Properties -- 3.5.4.1. Effect of HF Leak-off Coefficient -- 3.5.4.2. Effect of Target Formation Thickness -- 3.5.4.3 Effect of Target Formation Young’s Modulus -- 3.5.4.4 Effect of Target Formation Poisson’s Ratio -- 3.6 Summarized Observations -- Chapter 4. Conclusions and recommendations -- 4.1 Conclusions -- 4.2 Recommendations -- References