Management of cutaneous metastases using electrochemotherapy

Background. Cutaneous metastases may cause considerable discomfort as a consequence of ulceration, oozing, bleeding and pain. Electrochemotherapy has proven to be highly effective in the treatment of cutaneous metastases. Electrochemotherapy utilises pulses of electricity to increase the permeability of the cell membrane and thereby augment the effect of chemotherapy. For the drug bleomycin, the effect is enhanced several hundred-fold, enabling once-only treatment. The primary endpoint of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of electrochemotherapy as a palliative treatment. Methods. This phase II study is a collaboration between two centres, one in Denmark and the other in the UK. Patients with cutaneous metastases of any histology were included. Bleomycin was administered intratumourally or intravenously followed by application of electric pulses to the tumour site. Results. Fifty-two patients were included. Complete and partial response rate was 68% and 18%, respectively, for cutaneous metastases <3 cm and 8% and 23%, respectively, for cutaneous metastases >3 cm. Treatment was well-tolerated by patients, including the elderly, and no serious adverse events were observed. Conclusions. ECT is an efficient and safe treatment and clinicians should not hesitate to use it even in the elderly

Influence of Sowing Methods and Sowing Time on Growth, Growth Attributes and Yield of Black Gram Vigna mungo L. under Rice Oryza sativa L. Fallow Black Gram Cropping System

Aim: Blackgram is one of the most important pulse crops raised in several types of soil under well drained conditions. Currently, it is cultivated as monocrop , intercrop as well as rice fallow crop in southern India. When the rice fallow pulse systems are described as, the pulse crop is seeded before or after rice harvest without ploughing, the remaining soil moisture may be better used through conservation agriculture measures. It's also known as a relay crop, a no-till crop, or a residual crop.In general, the production and productivity of black gram is declining because of poor management practices . Thus, this study was undertaken rice establishment methods as a strategy to determine the availability of residual moisture on the establishment of rice fallow black gram system during the early growth stages. Place and Duration of Study:&nbsp;A field investigation was carried out at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University9o54’ N Latitude, 78o54’ E Longitude with an&nbsp; altitude of 147 m above MSL), Tamil Nadu, India from September 2019 to April 2020 Methodology: To see how different seeding methods and time influence the rice fallow black gram, the factors include rice planting methods as the main plot, methods of sowing black gram on rice fallow black gram as&nbsp; sub plot, and time of sowing black gram on rice fallow black gram given out in sub-sub plot treatment. Results:&nbsp;The treatments had the best growth qualities, growth analysis, and yield. It could be because the above-mentioned combinations had higher residual moisture content, which resulted in a higher germination percentage, better crop stand, and higher growth and yield of rice fallow black gram. Conclusion: The best management strategy is to sowing black gram in rice fallow situations with a rice fallow pulse planter at 10 days before rice harvest, under the direct seeded of rice establishment technique with drum seeder

Flower-Like Nickel–Cobalt Oxide Decorated Dopamine-Derived Carbon Nanocomposite for High Performance Supercapacitor Applications

The highly open space flower, coin, peony flower, and leaf-like nickel–cobalt oxide nanostructured materials with and without dopamine as a carbon source (D_1.5NiCo₂O₄, D_1.0NiCo₂O₄ (D-NiCo₂O₄), D_0.5NiCo₂O₄, and D_0.0NiCo₂O₄ (D- free NiCo₂O₄)) are prepared by a low temperature chemical synthesis method with improved electrical conductivity, providing the longtime electron pathway, and high surface area for high performance supercapacitors. The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, field emission-transmission electron microscope, and N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms. Electrochemical properties of the electrodes were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge methods. Notably, the as-synthesized flower-like D-NiCo₂O₄ nanocomposite exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of 667 F g^–1, which is superior to D- free NiCo₂O₄ viz. 202 F g^–1 at 5 A g^–1 with excellent cyclic stability of about 95% and 86% at 10 A g^–1 after 2000 charge–discharge cycles in 2.0 M KOH aqueous electrolyte solution for D-NiCo₂O₄, and D-free NiCo₂O₄, respectively. In addition, an asymmetric supercapacitor device is fabricated through D-NiCo₂O₄ as a positive electrode and biomass-derived AC as a negative electrode with the potential range of 0–1.5 V in PVA-KOH gel electrolyte solution. These results indicate that the as-prepared electrodes have high specific capacitance, excellent cycle stability, and good rate capability, which surpass several related metal oxide electrodes

An unusual ECG pattern in restrictive cardimyopathy

AbstractRestrictive cardiomyopathy is the least common type of primary cardiomyopathies. Electrocardiographic recording is abnormal in 99% of patients with RCM. Biatrial enlargement, obliquely elevated ST segment with notched or biphasic late peaking T waves are considered characteristic ECG finding. Significant ST depression with T inversion mimicking subendocardial ischemia has also been reported in patients with RCM and is even suggested as a predictor of sudden cardiac death. We noted a similar ECG pattern in a 16 yr girl with Idiopathic restrictive cardiomyopathy. Coronaries were normal, stress perfusion imaging did not show any perfusion defect. This diffuse resting ST depression with T inversion in precordial & inferior leads along with ST elevation in aVR was persistent for more than six months

Lignocellulosic biomass-derived, graphene sheet-like porous activated carbon for electrochemical supercapacitor and catechin sensing

We synthesize graphene sheet-like porous activated carbon (GPAC) with a high specific surface area by using Bougainvillea spectabilis as a precursor with the assistance of a facile and reliable chemical activation method. The as-synthesized GPAC materials were characterized with a variety of physicochemical and analytical techniques to investigate their structural and porous properties. In addition, we apply the synthesized GPAC as an electrode material for supercapacitor and catechin sensing, and corresponding electrochemical studies were carried out using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and differential pulse voltammetry. For supercapacitor application, the GPAC exhibits a specific capacitance of 233 F g(-1) (at a current density of 1.6 A g(-1)) and an energy density of 7.2 W h kg(-1) (for a symmetric cell). For the sensing application, the GPAC exhibits sensitive detection of catechin (CA). We achieved good sensitivity, an extensive linear range, and a low limit of detection for the CA sensor, with values of 7.2 mu A mu M-1 cm(-2), 4-368 mu M, and 0.67 mu M, respectively. We further test the GPAC sensor in green tea leaves for real time CA detection. This work demonstrates the successful conversion of waste biomass to useful electrochemical devices