Preparation and Characterization of Polymer Electrolytes

Two groups of polymer electrolyte having Na+ ion as the principal charge carrier have been prepared and analyzed with different experimental conditions. In the present study, sodium perchlorate (NaClO4) as the salt and two different polymers (i.e. Polyethylene Oxide (CH2 -CH2-O) and Polyurethane (RNHCOOR′)) as polymer host were taken for polymer-salt complexation. The polymer electrolytes were prepared by the solution cast method having different O/Na ratio (O/Na=0, 4, 8, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100). The structural and microstructural characterization has been carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. XRD analysis shows the formation of polymer-salt complex with the existence of both crystalline and amorphous phases in the materials. Again the formation of salt-polymer complexation has been confirmed by FTIR analysis by observing the COC stretching modes. The electrical property of the polymer electrolytes were carried out using complex impedance analysis in the frequency range of 100 mHz to 1 MHz at room temperature. AC conductivity, dielectric property and impedance data were presented with respect to different frequency and different compositions

The incidence and spectrum of transfusion transmitted infections among the blood donors

Background: Transfusion Transmitted Infections (TTIs), particularly through the viruses lead to the major health problems and challenges faced by the transfusion services for the supply of safe blood and blood components. The objective of the study is to assess the incidence and spectrum of five TTIs like Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Malaria Parasites (MP) and Syphilis among both voluntary and replacement blood donors in a span of seven years.Methods: Total 1, 38,994 voluntary and replacement blood donors were screened and 1,012 (0.73%) cases were seropositive of which 631 cases (0.64%) were found in voluntary donors and 381 cases (0.94%) were seen in replacement donors.Results: Majority of the donors were reactive for HBV infection (0.5%) followed by HCV (0.17%), HIV (0.052%), Syphilis (0.001%) and malaria (0.0005%). There was increase in the trend of seroprevalence of TTIs from 0.35% (2010) to 1.43% (2016) over the period which is a matter of consideration.Conclusions: It is therefore very important to continue preventive measures to combat this problem along with screening of donated blood units with highly sensitive test methods and post donation counselling of the seropositive donors for the prevention of further transmission risks

Resolving blood group discrepancy in patients of tertiary care centre in Odisha, India

Background: Blood grouping consists of both forward grouping; reverse grouping and both procedures should agree with each other.A blood group discrepancy exists when results of red cell testing do not agree with serum testing, usually due to unexpected negative or positive results in either forward or reverse typing. ABO and Rh blood group discrepancy is associated with incompatible transfusion reaction.Blood group discrepancy should be resolved before transfusion and blood group to be properly labeled to prevent transfusion reaction.Methods: A prospective study was carried in SCB blood bank which is under the Department of Transfusion Medicine, SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, Odisha from January 2015 to October-2016. Total 25,559 blood samples of patients were included in the study and hemolysed samples excluded. The ABO and Rh D typing was done by tube technique using monoclonal IgM (Tulip Diagnostic P Ltd.) Anti-A, Anti-B, Anti-D and pooled A, B and O cell.Results: A total of 25,559 blood group testing were done where we found 57 blood group discrepancies with overall frequency was 0.22%. Out of 57 discrepancies we were found 20 (35.09%) cases of technical error and 37 (64.91%) cases of sample related error. Among these sample related problems, we found weak/missing antibody, weak antigen expression, rouleaux, cold autoantibodies, cold alloantibodies, Bombay phenotype with the frequency of 13.51%, 2.70%, 2.70%, 54.06%, 8.11%, 18.92% respectively.Conclusions: Mistyping either a donor or a recipient can lead to transfusion with ABO-incompatible blood, which can result in severe hemolysis and may even result in the death of the recipient. Any discrepancy between forward and reverse blood grouping methods should be resolved before transfusion of blood components

Platelet audit: To weigh the rationality between requirement and uses in blood transfusion

Background: Blood transfusion especially the transfusion of blood component is an important part for better patient management than whole blood transfusion. Despite various approved guidelines, non-compliance regarding rational use prevails in transfusion services.Methods: In the present study; retrospective audit was conducted for a period of six months in the department of Transfusion Medicine, SCB Medical College and Hospital revealed on 3871 number of platelets prepared.Results: Out of 3757 units of platelet issued, there was 10.9% group nonspecific platelet transfusion, 31% inappropriate platelet transfusion and 1.99% wastage.Conclusions: The goal of transfusion service is to provide adequate number of safe blood components to the patient requiring this transfusion as per clinical guideline. This can be achieved by platelet audit which plays an important tool to reduce the inappropriate transfusion in patients, by improving the practice, in adherence to guidelines and focusing the areas of pitfall

Prevalence and factors associated with tuberculosis infection in India

Background: The risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease is higher in individuals with TB infection. In a TB endemic country like India, it is essential to understand the current burden of TB infection at the population level. The objective of the present analysis is to estimate the prevalence of TB infection in India and to explore the factors associated with TB infection. Methods: Individuals aged > 15 years in the recently completed National TB prevalence survey in India who were tested for TB infection by QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) assay were considered for this sub- analysis. TB infection was defined as positive by QFT-Plus (value > 0.35 IU/ml). The estimates for prevalence, prevalence ratio (PR) and adjusted risk ratio (aRR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: Of the 16864 individuals analysed, the prevalence of TB infection was 22.6% (95% CI:19.4 −25.8). Factors more likely to be associated with TB infection include age > 30 years (aRR:1.49;95% CI:1.29–1.73), being male (aRR:1.26; 95%CI: 1.18–1.34), residing in urban location (aRR:1.58; 95%CI: 1.03–2.43) and past history of TB (aRR:1.49; 95%CI: 1.26–1.76). Conclusion: About one fourth (22.6%) of the individuals were infected with TB in India. Individuals aged > 30 years, males, residing in urban location, and those with past history of TB were more likely to have TB infection. Targeted interventions for prevention of TB and close monitoring are essential to reduce the burden of TB in India

Dynamics of the impact of currency fluctuations on stock markets in India: Assessing the pricing of exchange rate risks

This paper studies the dynamics of the impact of currency fluctuation on Indian stock market by assessing the pricing of exchange rate risk during the period 2005–2016, specifically before and after financial crises. Estimating a two-factor arbitrage pricing model, using a random coefficient model, the paper presents evidence that stock returns react significantly to foreign exchange rate fluctuations in the post-crisis period. Particularly, during the last four years of our sample, 2012–2016, the exchange rate risk factor is becoming a prominent determinant of stock returns, indicating that Indian investors are increasingly expecting a risk premium on their investment for their added exposure to exchange rate risk. This is also further corroborated by the study by highlighting the fact that higher the foreign exchange exposure of industry, measured by trade balance (net inflows), higher is their sensitivity to exchange rate risk (βS). A plausible reason for such premium could be the inadequate hedging by Indian firms to mitigate the exchange rate risk. Keywords: Exchange rate risk, Arbitrage pricing theory, Stock returns, Risk premium, Hedging, Financial crisis, JEL classification: G01, G11, G12, G3

Prevalence of Kell Blood Group Antigens among Blood Donors & Impact of its Alloimmunization in Multi-transfused Thalassemia & Sickle Cell Disease Patients with Recommendation of Transfusion Protocol—Need of the Hour

Background: The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence of Kell antigen and its correlation to major blood groups, ABO & Rh system in Eastern India. There was simultaneous retrospective analysis of Kell alloimmunization to find out the implication and recommendation of transfusion protocols in multi-transfused thalassemia and sickle cell patients. Methods: The study was a prospective observational conducted on 3000 donors for KELL and ABO grouping. Retrospective analysis was made to identify common alloantibodies in multi-transfused patients. Results: The overall prevalence of Kell antigen was 2.6% (80) in 3000 donors. Among male, it was highly prevalent i.e. 2.77% and in females 0.65%. Kell antigen was highly prevalent among AB donors, i.e. 5.1%. It was 2.5% in A, 2.9% in B, 1.9% in Blood Donors. Kell prevalence was high in Rh D positive donors, i.e. 2.72% and was 1.72% among Rh D negative donors. Anti-K was the 3rd most common alloantibody detected in 638 cases of multi-transfused thalassemia and sickle cell (SCD) patients (9.25%). Anti-E (42.6%)was most common entity followed by anti-c (24.0%). Conclusion: The higher incidence of Kell prevalence in AB & Rh D Positive Blood groups and also in male persons indicate that there should be a donor database and knowledge of red cell antigen prevalence in a population. This will help blood centers in providing antigen negative compatible blood units to patients with corresponding alloantibodies. Hemolytic transfusion reactions due to Kell alloimmunization are of a significant severity. Prevalence of Kell alloantibody is high among multi-transfused patients and is next to anti E & anti c. Kell sensitized mothers may also cause serious consequences like hemolytic disease of fetus and newborn. Therefore, it is suggested that extended phenotyping including Kell blood group antigen should be implemented in cases of multi-transfused patients. Keywords: Blood donors, Extended phenotyping, Kell, Multitransfused thalassemia patients, Multitransfused sickle cell disease patient

Intra-operative cytodiagnosis of primary ovarian choriocarcinoma with Ki67 immunoexpression

Primary ovarian choriocarcinoma is a rare neoplasm that can be gestational and non-gestational in origin. It accounts for one in 369 million pregnancies. Both types present with similar clinical, histomorphological and ultrastructural findings. But, it is essential to differentiate the two because the gestational type has a better clinical course and responds to single-agent chemotherapy. Usually, the gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma is metastatic from uterine choriocarcinoma and follows antecedent pregnancy and is seen in females of 40 years or older. DNA polymorphism analysis showing the presence of paternal genes in the tumor establishes the gestational origin of choriocarcinoma. We present the intra-operative cytological findings of a case of primary ovarian choriocarcinoma in a 25-year-old lady arising from ectopic pregnancy with Ki67 immunostain