Development of breathable and liquid/microbes barrier woven surgical gowns for hospital usage

An attempt has been made to develop a breathable woven surgical gown with antimicrobial and liquid repellent properties by finishing with nanoparticles of silver and fluorocarbon using pad-dry-cure method. Box-Behnken design has been used to optimize the coating parameters, i.e. concentrations of nanosilver (NS), nanofluorocarbon (NFC) and binder. The selected coating parameters has decisive influence on the fabric properties, such as air permeability, moisture vapour permeability, antimicrobial and tensile behaviour. The optimum coating parameters such as concentrations of NS, NFC and binder result in improved air permeability and moisture vapour permeability of the fabric for 3 g/L of NS and 40 g/L of NFC. The antibacterial activity of fabric is found to be higher for increased NS concentration and lower for increased NFC. In case of tensile properties of coated fabrics, the increase in NS concentration increases the tensile strength and decreases the bending modulus of fabrics

Government General Hospital

Abstract Introduction: Various components of metabolic syndrome have an important role in the pathogenesis of both non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and psoriasis, suggesting an association between these diseases. However, at present very few studies have reported on the systematic evaluations of the prevalence of NAFLD in patients with psoriasis disorder. Aim: To investigate the prevalence of NAFLD in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. The study also evaluated the parallel relationship between both of the diseases. Material and methods: Patients over18 years old and with a diagnosis of psoriasis vulgaris at the outpatient unit of Department of Dermatology were considered for enrolment and were followed up by the Department of Hepatology, Madras Medical College. Each and every patient completed a questionnaire, underwent a thorough skin evaluation, and had a right upper quadrant ultrasound and fasting blood workup. Results: Two hundred and fifty patients were enrolled in the study. The participants were predominantly middle aged (mean: 44.74 ±11.989 years), overweight (average body mass index (BMI): 24.772 ±3.611 kg/

Static and dynamic properties of sisal fiber polyester composites – effect of interlaminar fiber orientation

The effect of fiber orientation was studied relative to the static and dynamic properties of sisal/polyester composites. Different composites were developed using the compression moulding technique with the aid of a specially designed mould. Composite laminates were formulated by stacking a number of fiber lamina with different orientations such as 90º/0º /90º, 0º /90º /0º, 90º /0º /0º /90º, 0º /45º /0º, 0º /90º /45º /45º /90º /0º, and 0º /45º /90º /90º /45º /0º. In general, the performance of static and dynamic characteristics was found to be significantly influenced by the effect of interlaminar fiber orientation. Experimental results exhibited a higher flexural strength of 68 MPa and an impact strength of 320 J/m in the case of 0º /90º /45º /45º /90º /0º oriented composites. Dynamic characteristics such as natural frequency and damping were found to be higher in the case of 0º /45º /0º and 0º /90º /0º, respectively. Morphological analysis was performed for understanding the interlaminar orientation and failure mechanisms between the fiber and the matrix

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF CENTRIFUGAL HUMIDIFIER FITTED IN AN INDUSTRIAL SHED LOCATED IN TROPICAL CLIMATES

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Development of breathable and liquid/microbes barrier woven surgical gowns for hospital usage

453-464An attempt has been made to develop a breathable woven surgical gown with antimicrobial and liquid repellent properties by finishing with nanoparticles of silver and fluorocarbon using pad-dry-cure method. Box-Behnken design has been used to optimize the coating parameters, i.e. concentrations of nanosilver (NS), nanofluorocarbon (NFC) and binder. The selected coating parameters has decisive influence on the fabric properties, such as air permeability, moisture vapour permeability, antimicrobial and tensile behaviour. The optimum coating parameters such as concentrations of NS, NFC and binder result in improved air permeability and moisture vapour permeability of the fabric for 3 g/L of NS and 40 g/L of NFC. The antibacterial activity of fabric is found to be higher for increased NS concentration and lower for increased NFC. In case of tensile properties of coated fabrics, the increase in NS concentration increases the tensile strength and decreases the bending modulus of fabrics

Anionic Surfactant Based Topical Curcumin Nanosuspension: Fabrication, Characterization and Evaluation

Curcumin, a hydrophobic polyphenol isolated from dried rhizomes of turmeric exhibits diverse pharmacological activities including anti-bacterial. However, the clinical usefulness of curcumin was limited mainly due to low aqueous solubility and stability. The primary aim of the study was to prepare anionic surfactant based curcumin nanosuspension and to assess its in-vitro anti-bacterial efficacy on Escherichia coli in comparison with ethanolic solution of curcumin. Curcumin nanosuspension was prepared by nanoprecipitation method, characterized for the average particle size, span, uniformity, surface area, and surface morphology and assessed for its anti-bacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli using agar well diffusion method. Prepared curcumin nanosuspension showed an average particle size of about 175 nm, span of about 1.5, uniformity of about 0.8, surface area of about 57 m2/g and nanoparticles were spherical in shape. Curcumin nanosuspension have shown significant (P<0.05) anti-bacterial activity against Escherichia coli at various concentrations in comparison with ethanolic solution of curcumin. We conclude that the size reduction of curcumin in nano range has increased the surface area resulting in increased aqueous solubility and reactability of curcumin, which in turn have increased the potency of curcumin nanosuspension

Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and Chemical Sciences Trends in Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection among General Population: A Study from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

ABSTRACT Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major global public health problem, despite the availability of effective vaccine and improvements in antiviral therapy. About 350 million people become chronic carriers of the virus and over 1 million die annually from HBV associated liver disease and a significant number of the chronic carriers may develop liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. A total of 951 participants (568 males and 383 females) from areas around our hospital were included in the study. Blood was collected from participants and sera were separated. Samples which showed positive for HBsAg by rapid test were tested for HBsAg by ELISA technique. Of the 951 samples, 40 (4.2%) were positive for HBsAg. High prevalence was recorded in males 25/951 (2.6%) than females 15/951 (1.6%). More number of positive cases (11/951 (1.2%)) were fall in the age group of 30-39. Data on HBV prevalence at country level are needed to estimate disease burden and to formulate health and vaccine policy

Study on the Inter-Laminar Shear Strength and Contact Angle of Glass Fiber/ABS and Glass Fiber/Carbon Fiber/ABS Hybrid Composites

In recent days, the uses of 3D printing have been successfully implemented in various applications due to their advantages. Besides, the need for sustainable choice has created a demand for the augmented use of thermoplastic composites. Thus, additive manufacturing techniques have become the essence of composite fabrication to achieve an automated and flexible fabrication technique. The present study used fused deposition modelling (FDM) and hot press moulding technique to produce composite samples. The composite laminates were fabricated by using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as polymer and woven glass fiber (GF) and woven carbon fiber (CF) used as reinforcements. Further, the laminates were subjected to inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) and contact angle. The inter-laminar shear strength and the contact angle of hybrid samples were compared with virgin ABS and pure glass fiber-reinforced composites. The study reported a maximum ILSS of 198.5MPa achieved by GF/CF/ABS hybrid composites, which was higher by 17% and 217% compared with GF/ABS and ABS samples, respectively. The contact angle results showed an increase due to the incorporation of fibers with ABS by 5% and 13% in GF/ABS and GF/CF/ABS, respectively, contributing to the adhesion. The contact angle values achieved were 100.5°, 105.15°, and 113.39° by ABS, GF/ABS and GF/CF/ABS making them hydrophobic in nature. These developed reinforced materials, such as carbon fiber, glass fiber and ABS matrix composites, could be used in automotive, aerospace and wind energy applications

Insulin Treatment Forces Arteriogenesis in Diabetes Mellitus by Upregulation of the Early Growth Response-1 (Egr-1) Pathway in Mice

The process of arteriogenesis is severely compromised in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Earlier studies have reported the importance of Egr-1 in promoting collateral outward remodeling. However, the role of Egr-1 in the presence of DM in outward vessel remodeling was not studied. We hypothesized that Egr-1 expression may be compromised in DM which may lead to impaired collateral vessel growth. Here, we investigated the relevance of the transcription factor Egr-1 for the process of collateral artery growth in diabetic mice. Induction of arteriogenesis by femoral artery ligation resulted in an increased expression of Egr-1 on mRNA and protein level but was severely compromised in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Diabetes mellitus mice showed a significantly reduced expression of Egr-1 endothelial downstream genes Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and urokinase Plasminogen Activator (uPA), relevant for extravasation of leukocytes which promote arteriogenesis. Fluorescent-activated cell sorting analyses confirmed reduced leukocyte recruitment. Diabetes mellitus mice showed a reduced expression of the proliferation marker Ki-67 in growing collaterals whose luminal diameters were also reduced. The Splicing Factor-1 (SF-1), which is critical for smooth muscle cell proliferation and phenotype switch, was found to be elevated in collaterals of DM mice. Treatment of DM mice with insulin normalized the expression of Egr-1 and its downstream targets and restored leukocyte recruitment. SF-1 expression and the diameter of growing collaterals were normalized by insulin treatment as well. In summary, our results showed that Egr-1 signaling was impaired in DM mice; however, it can be rescued by insulin treatment