New Zealand entrepreneurs: leading for excellence

New Zealand (NZ) has been proclaimed as a leader in entrepreneurship by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) assessment. This paper links GEM findings to results from a NZ-based survey of micro-business operators and identifies factors that explain why NZ is a leader in the Entrepreneurship rating. NZ entrepreneurs are largely opportunity seeking: they want to be their own boss and are interested in the growth. They are relatively well-educated and are supported by well developed business infrastructures and support agencies. However, what directly contributes to the high propensity to set-up new businesses is not clear.entrepreneurship; entrepreneurs; New Zealand; NZ; small business; excellence; micro-business; support; leadership.

Risk of surgical site infection in paediatric herniotomies without any prophylactic antibiotics: A preliminary experience

Background: Different studies underline the use of pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis in clean surgeries like herniotomy and inguinal orchiopexy. But, the metaanalyses do not recommend nor discard the use of prophylactic pre-operative antibiotics. The scarcity of controlled clinical trials in paediatric population further vitiates the matter. This study assessed the difference in the rate of early post-operative wound infection cases in children who received single dose of pre-operative antibiotics and children who did not receive antibiotics after inguinal herniotomy and orchiopexy. Materials and Methods: This randomised prospective study was conducted in Paediatric Surgery department of PGIMER Chandigarh. Out of 251  patients, 112 patients were randomised to the case group and 139 were ascribed to the control group. The patients in control group were given a standard regimen of single dose of intravenous antibiotic at the time of induction followed by 3-4 days of oral antibiotic. Case group patients  underwent the surgical procedure in similar manner with no antibioticeither at the time of induction or post-operatively.Results: The incidence of surgical site infection in case group was 3.73 % and that in control group was 2.22%. The observed difference in the  incidence of surgical site infection was statistically insignificant (P value = 0.7027). The overall infection rate in case and control group was 2.89%. Conclusions: Our preliminary experience suggests that there is no statistically significant difference in the proportion of early post-operative wound infection between the patients who received single dose of  pre-operative antibiotics and the patients who received no antibiotics after inguinal herniotomy and orchiopexy. The risk of surgical site infection in paediatric heriotomies does not increase even if the child’s weight is less than his/her expected weight for age.Key words: Antibiotic prophylaxis, clean surgeries, herniotomy, orchiopexy, surgical site infection

Does all small bowel intussusception need exploration?

Small bowel intussusception (SBI) in infants and children are ususally associated with a lead point. With increased use of radiological investigations,more idiopathic SBIs are identified. As reduction by hydrostatic or air enema are less successful in these cases, most of them require surgical exploration in children. However, now many cases of SBI have been found to reduce spontaneously. We report two cases of SBI with spontaneous reduction and review the literature for the management guidelines.Key words: Intussusception, small bowel intussusception, infants, childr

Fine structure in the A – X system of aluminium monochloride molecule, determination of dissociation energy by predissociation

The rotational structure of the A — X system of aluminium monochloride molecule has been photographed in the third order of a 10.6 meter concave grating spectrograph with 0.22 Å/mm dispersion in order to obtain precise molecular constants. The rotational predissociation observed in the bands involving V = 9 and 10 vibrational levels of the excited state has been used to determine the precise value of the dissociation energy which comes out to be 5.26 ± 0.01 eV. The nature of the predissociating state has also been discussed

Gastric lipoma

We report a 12-year-old-boy with gastric lipoma. Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy with biopsy and abdominal computed tomogram (CT) scan revealed the diagnosis. Open surgical excision of the mass with stomach preservation was done. The clinical presentation and management are discussed and the literature reviewed here. This is the sixth pediatric case reported in the English literature

Surgical management and outcome analysis of stage III pediatric empyema thoracis

Aim: Report of 125 pediatric patients of empyema thoracis treated by open decortication, highlighting the presentation, delay in referral, operative findings, the response to surgical intervention and follow-up. Materials and Methods: All the children who underwent open decortication for stage III empyema thoracis during the study period were included. Preoperative workup included hemogram, serum protein, chest radiographs and contrast-enhanced computed tomographic (CECT) scan of the chest. Results: One hundred and twenty-five patients (81 males, 44 females) (age 3 months-12 years, mean 4.9 years) were operated during a 4.5-year period. Among them, two children underwent bilateral thoracotomies. Also, 81.6% patients were referred 3 weeks after the onset of disease (mean duration 9 weeks). Intercostal chest drainage (ICD) had been inserted in (119) 95% cases. Thickened pleura, multiloculated pus and lung involvement were invariably seen on CECT scan. Bronchopleural fistula was present in 10 patients and empyema necessitatis in 2. Decortication, removal of necrotic tissue and closure of air leaks was performed in all the patients. Necrotizing pneumonia was seen in (35) 27.5% cases. Mean duration of postoperative ICD was 7 days. Follow-up ranged from 3 months to 4 years (mean 12 months). There was no mortality. Six patients had proven tuberculosis. Conclusions: The duration of the disease had a direct relationship with the thickness of the pleura and injury to the underlying lung. Delayed referral causes irreversible changes in the lung prolonging recovery. Only 18% presented within the early period of the disease. Meticulous open surgical debridement gives gratifying results. The status of the lung at the end of surgery is a major prognostic factor