ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF DIELECTRIC BARRIER DISCHARGE PRODUCED IN ATMOSPHERIC AIR 2

This paper reports the results concerning the production of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure air and its electrical and optical characterization. The discharge was produced by applying high voltage AC source of frequency (10-30) kHz and potential difference of (0-20) kV across the electrodes. The discharge was characterized by measuring current and voltage with a high frequency digital oscilloscope. The optical characterization was made by taking the spectrums of discharge by optical emission spectrometer. The optical spectra in the range of 200 nm to 450 nm have been analyzed in order to estimate the electron temperature by intensity ratio method. Results showed that the electron temperature is about 1.9 eV. Key words: DBD, emission spectra, electron temperature, non-equilibrium plasm

Concurrent chemoradiation in locally advanced carcinoma cervix patients

Purpose : To investigate the feasibility of concurrent chemo radiation in locally advanced carcinoma cervix patients in our clinical setting. Materials and Methods : From Sept. 1 st 2005 to Aug. 31 st 2006, 102 patients of carcinoma cervix belonging to stage IIA to IV A were enrolled in the study. External beam radiation therapy was administered using Cobalt 60 teletherapy machine. Cisplatinum (40 mg/m 2 ) and 5 Fluorouracil (500 mg /m 2 ) continuous infusions with radiotherapy on D2-D5 in first and last 5 # of radiation therapy were administered. Results : Response to treatment and toxicities were monitored and analyzed in 102 patients (50 study group and 52 control group). All 102 patients completed treatment. Out of 50 patients in the study group, 30, 10 and 4 patients had complete, partial and progressive disease, respectively. While out of 52 patients in the control group, 26 had complete and 12 showed partial response. No difference in overall renal, hematological and cutaneous toxicity was seen between two groups. Conclusion : This study did not show any benefit of concurrent chemo radiation as compared to radiotherapy alone in locally advanced cervical cancer patients. This could be due to more bulk of tumor stage per stage, poor nutritional status, less number of patients in both arms, not enough to pick up statistically significant small difference in outcome

Open label comparative trial of mono versus dual antibiotic therapy for Typhoid Fever in adults

<div><p>Background</p><p>Emerging resistance to antibiotics renders therapy of Typhoid Fever (TF) increasingly challenging. The current single-drug regimens exhibit prolonged fever clearance time (FCT), imposing a great burden on both patients and health systems, and potentially contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance and the chronic carriage of the pathogens. The aim of our study was to assess the efficacy of combining third-generation cephalosporin therapy with azithromycin on the outcomes of TF in patients living in an endemic region.</p><p>Methods</p><p>An open-label, comparative trial was conducted at Dhulikhel Hospital, Nepal, between October 2012 and October 2014. Only culture-confirmed TF cases were eligible. Patients were alternately allocated to one of four study arms: hospitalized patients received either intravenous ceftriaxone or a combination of ceftriaxone and oral azithromycin, while outpatients received either oral azithromycin or a combination of oral azithromycin and cefexime. The primary outcome evaluated was FCT and the secondary outcomes included duration of bacteremia.</p><p>Results</p><p>105 blood culture-confirmed patients, of whom 51 were treated as outpatients, were eligible for the study. Of the 88 patients who met the inclusion criteria for FCT analysis 41 patients received a single-agent regimen, while 47 patients received a combined regimen. Results showed that FCT was significantly shorter for the latter (95 versus 88 hours, respectively, p = 0·004), and this effect was exhibited in both the hospitalized and the outpatient sub-groups. Repeat blood cultures, drawn on day 3, were positive for 8/47 (17%) patients after monotherapy, versus 2/51 (4%) after combination therapy (p = 0·045). No severe complications or fatalities occurred in any of the groups.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Combined therapy of third-generation cephalosporins and azithromycin for TF may surpass monotherapy in terms of FCT and time to elimination of bacteremia.</p><p>Trial registration</p><p>Trial registration number: <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02224040" target="_blank">NCT02224040</a>.</p></div

Open label comparative trial of mono versus dual antibiotic therapy for Typhoid Fever in adults - Fig 2

<p><b>Kaplan-Meir curve of fever clearance time (FCT) in dual antibiotic therapy versus monotherapy</b>. A. Time to defervescence for the outpatient study arms; B. Time to defervescence for the inpatient study arms; C. Time to defervescence for the two study arms receiving monotherapy versus the two study arms receiving dual therapy. Dashed lines represent monotherapy, continuous lines represents dual therapy.</p

Patient characteristics upon enrollment.

<p>Patient characteristics upon enrollment.</p

Study flow diagram of patients with blood cultures positive for <i>S</i>. Typhi and <i>S</i>. Paratyphi.

<p>Study flow diagram of patients with blood cultures positive for <i>S</i>. Typhi and <i>S</i>. Paratyphi.</p