A study of outcome of neuroparalytic snake bite patients treated with fixed dose of antisnake venom

Background: Dhule district in Maharashtra (India) has snake bite as a common medical emergency. There are 168 villages in Dhule district and its majority of the population is engaged in farming and snakebite is a major occupational hazard particularly during the harvesting season. The available data on the epidemiology of snake bite from the here is sparse. Poisonous and nonpoisonous snake bites accounts approximately 30 admissions per month which increase to 35-40 admissions in rainy season in Civil Hospital. Methods: Fifty patients with severe neuroparalytic snake envenomation, resulting in acute type II respiratory failure, admitted to medical ICU for mechanical ventilation during one year period, were studied. Ventilatory requirements, amount of antisnake venom (ASV) infused, period of neurological recovery and hospital survival were evaluated. Results: 60% of patients affected were in the age group of 21-40 years. Maximum numbers of bites were during April to September (84%). All patients had severe manifestations such as ptosis, ophthalmoplegia, neck muscle weakness, limb and respiratory muscle weakness. 200 ml ASV was administered to all, along with atropine and neostigmine. Mechanical ventilation was required for a median duration of 26.60 hours. All victims in the study group survived with complete neurological recovery except one mortality for a patient who had suffered irreversible hypoxic cerebral injury prior to arrival in hospital and needed ventilatory support for 9.58 days. Conclusions: Timely institution of ventilatory support and fixed dose of 200 ml of ASV along with anticholinesterase treatment was sufficient to reverse neuroparalysis in severe elapid bites.

ORGANIC SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING POLY (o-TOLUIDINE) DOPED WITH ORGANIC ACID

Abstract. Poly(o-toluidine) doped with acrylic acid and without it was synthesized by using chemical oxidative polymerization technique. With the help of this method the polymer, poly(o-toluidine) was synthesized in the form of emeraldine salt. The oxidizing agent used for this method is the ammonium persulphate .The polymer products were characterized by UV-Visible and FTIR spectroscopy. The polymer, poly(o-toluidine) doped with acrylic acid was highly soluble in common organic solvents like m-cresol, NMP, DMF etc. The FTIR studies demonstrate that the acrylic acid doped poly(o-toluidine) shows broad and intense band at 3250-3000 cm -1 and 1160-1100 cm -1 account for the higher degree of doping. These results are well supported by conductivity measurements

A systematic investigation of the performance of copper-, cobalt-, iron-, manganese-, and nickel-based oxygen carriers for chemical looping combustion technology through simulation studies

The Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle coupled with chemical looping combustion (IGCC-CLC) is one of the most promising technologies that allow generation of cleaner energy from coal by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2). It is essential to compare and evaluate the performances of various oxygen carriers (OC), used in the CLC system; these are crucial for the success of IGCC-CLC technology. Research on OCs has hitherto been restricted to small laboratory and pilot scale experiments. It is therefore necessary to examine the performance of OCs in large-scale systems with more extensive analysis. This study compares the performance of five different OCs – copper, cobalt, iron, manganese and nickel oxides – for large-scale (350–400 MW) IGCC-CLC processes through simulation studies. Further, the effect of three different process configurations: (i) water-cooling, (ii) air-cooling and (iii) air-cooling along with air separation unit (ASU) integration of the CLC air reactor, on the power output of IGCC-CLC processes – are also investigated. The simulation results suggest that iron-based OCs, with 34.3% net electrical efficiency and ~100% CO2 capture rate lead to the most efficient process among all the five studied OCs. A net electrical efficiency penalty of 7.1–8.1% points leads to the IGCC-CLC process being more efficient than amine based post-combustion capture technology and equally efficient to the solvent based pre-combustion capture technology. The net electrical efficiency of the IGCC-CLC process increased by 0.6–2.1% with the use of air-cooling and ASU integration, compared with the water- and air-cooling cases. This work successfully demonstrates a correlation between the reaction enthalpies of different OCs and power output, which suggests that the OCs with higher values of reaction enthalpy for oxidation (ΔHr, oxidation) with air-cooling are more valuable for the IGCC-CLC

Inductive Theory of Vision

In spite of the fact that some of the outstanding physiologists and neurophysiologists (e.g. Hermann von Helmholtz and Horace Barlow) insisted on the central role of inductive learning processes in vision as well as in other sensory processes, there are absolutely no (computational) theories of vision that are guided by these processes. It appears that this is mainly due to the lack of understanding of what inductive learning processes are. We strongly believe in the central role of inductive learning processes, around which, we think, all other (intelligent) biological processes have evolved. In this paper we outline a (computational) theory of vision completely built around the inductive learning processes for all levels in vision. The development of such a theory became possible with the advent of the formal model of inductive learning---evolving transformation system (ETS). The proposed theory is based on the concept of structured measurement device, which is motivated by the formal model of inductive learning and is a far-reaching generalization of the concept of classical measurement devic

Applications of Biomimicry in Construction and Architecture: A Bibliometric Analysis

Biomimicry can be considered to be a way of connecting the environment created by man to the natural world. Biomimicry is a science that, as a model, a measure and a tutor, looks to nature. Via site work, construction and everyday operations, biomimicry can be used to enhance the way the built environment is constructed. The main objective of this paper is to perform a bibliometric study of biomimicry-related literature in order to discover the growth of biomimicry as an architectural method in recent years. The time frame considered for this survey is between 1990 and 2020. The findings, however, indicate that the first paper was not written until 2007. In this paper, bibliometric analysis focuses primarily on results from the Scopus database. For data visualization purposes, external software like iMapBuilder and VOSviewer are used. The research is intended to show the need for biomimicry in the modern world. The result of the study sheds light on the lack of biomimicry research and the need for more research on the subject. A new research approach for comprehensive research in biomimicry paves the way for the results of this analysis

Polyindole-ZnO Nanocomposite: Synthesis, Characterization and Heterogeneous Catalyst for the 3,4-Dihydropyrimidinone Synthesis under Solvent-free Conditions

<div><p>A Polyindole-ZnO nanocomposite particle was synthesized by using a chemical oxidative polymerization method. Synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by UV-Visible, FTIR, SEM, XRD, EDAX and electrical conductivity measurements. The band at ∼3400 cm⁻¹ and 735 cm⁻¹ in FTIR spectra confirmed the polyindole formation. XRD spectral studies exhibits major diffraction in between 30–40° (2θ) indicates the partial crystalline nature of the polyindole-ZnO nanocomposite. SEM image reveals agglomerated granular particulate nature with ZnO embedded in the polyindole matrix. The application of Polyindole-ZnO nanocomposite as a polymer-supported catalyst was studied for the synthesis of one pot multicomponent Biginelli condensation.</p> </div

Inpatient safety outcomes following the 2011 residency work-hour reform

BACKGROUND The impact of the 2011 residency work-hour reforms on patient safety is not known. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between implementation of the 2011 reforms and patient safety outcomes at a large academic medical center. DESIGN Observational study using difference-in-differences estimation strategy to evaluate whether safety outcomes improved among patients discharged from resident and hospitalist (nonresident) services before (2008-2011) and after (2011-2012) residency work-hour changes. PATIENTS All adult patients discharged from general medicine services from July 2008 through June 2012. MEASUREMENTS Outcomes evaluated included length of stay, 30-day readmission, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, inpatient mortality, and presence of Maryland Hospital Acquired Conditions. Independent variables included time period (pre- vs postreform), resident versus hospitalist service, patient age at admission, race, gender, and case mix index. RESULTS Patients discharged from the resident services in the postreform period had higher likelihood of an ICU stay (5.7% vs 4.5%, difference 1.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.5% to 2.2%), and lower likelihood of 30-day readmission (17.2% vs 20.1%, difference 2.8%; 95 % CI: 1.3 to 4.3%) than patients discharged from the resident services in the prereform period. Comparing pre- and postreform periods on the resident and hospitalist services, there were no significant differences in patient safety outcomes. CONCLUSIONS In the first year after implementation of the 2011 work-hour reforms relative to prior years, we found no change in patient safety outcomes in patients treated by residents compared with patients treated by hospitalists. Further study of the long-term impact of residency work-hour reforms is indicated to ensure improvement in patient safety. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2014;9:347-352. (c) 2014 Society of Hospital Medicin