A comparative study of dexmedetomidine and fentanyl as adjuvants to ropivacaine on analgesic efficacy in supraclavicular brachial plexus block

Background: Various adjuvants have been added to improve the quality of the supraclavicular brachail plexus block and prolong postoperative analgesia. The aim of the present study was to compare the onset and duration of sensory and motor blockade provided by dexmedetomidine and fentanyl as adjuvants to ropivacaine in such block. Methods: In this study 60 patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists grade I/II scheduled for elective upper limb surgeries were randomly allocated into two groups. Group A received 30 mL of 0.5% ropivacaine with 1 µg kg-1 dexmedetomidine, and group B received 30 mL of 0.5% ropivacaine with 1 µg kg-1 fentanyl for supraclavicular brachial block. The onset and duration of sensory and motor block and adverse events during the perioperative period were noted. Results: The onset of sensory and motor blockade was 13.47±1.73 min and 22.87±2.27 min respectively in the dexmedetomidine group and 14.80±2.20 min and 24.33±2.63 min respectively in the fentanyl group which was statistically significant (P<0.05). The duration of the sensory blockade was significantly higher in the dexmedetomidine group as compared with fentanyl (826±58.29 vs 592±51.62 minutes, p< 0.0001). Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine provides faster onset of sensory and motor block with longer duration of block as compared with fentanyl when used as an adjuvant with ropivacaine in supraclavicular brachial plexus block without any significant side effects

Odonata larvae of Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur, northeastern India

Odonata larvae were collected from Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur, northeastern India during 2009-2011. The study recorded 15 species of Odonata larvae belonging to the anisopteran families Aeshnidae, Libellulidae and zygopteran families Calopterigidae, Lestidae and Coenagrionidae. The study revealed that there is a need for a detailed study of Odonata fauna of the national park as thorough knowledge of the important species of a conservation area is very essential for proper management

Evaluation Of Laboratory Performance Of Sasobit And Zycotherm As An Additives For Warm Mix Asphalt On Performance Characteristic

Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is a fast emerging green technology which has a potential to replace Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and significantly reduces the production temperature of asphalt mixtures through lowering the viscosity of asphalt binders. The technology can reduce production temperatures by as much as 30 percent. Asphalt mixes are generally produced at 150º C or greater temperatures depending mainly on the type of binder used. WMA mixes can be produced at temperatures of about 135ºC or lower.This paper presents the findings of an experimental study aimed at evaluation of Marshall mix design and moisture-induced damage properties of Sasobit and Zycotherm modified WMA mixtures and were compared with HMA mixtures. Marshall mix design and moisture-induced damage properties were evaluated for varying dosage rate of WMA additives (1% to 5% of Sasobit by weight of binder with increment of 1% and 0.05% to 0.2% of Zycotherm by weight of binder with increment of 0.05%). Marshall mix design properties which include bulk specific gravity of compacted mixes (Gmb), air voids (VTM) content, voids filled with mineral aggregates (VMA) and voids filled with asphalt (VFA) were evaluated. Moisture-induced damage was evaluated by the Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) approach and boiling water test. Test results indicate that WMA mixtures satisfied requirements of mix design properties. Further, WMA mixtures exhibited higher resistance to moisture-induced damage and fulfilled the minimum TSR requirements. In addition, dosage rate of WMA additives had significant effect on both Marshall mix design and moisture-induced damage properties

Influence Of Steel Fiber Reinforced Characteristics On Mechanical Strength And Abrasion Resistance Of Cement Concrete Pavement

Fibers are generally used as resistance of cracking and strengthening of concrete. Steel fiber is one of the most commonly used fibers. Short, discrete steel fibers provide discontinuous three-dimensional reinforcement that picks up load and transfer stresses at micro-crack level. Plain, unreinforced concrete is a brittle material, with possesses a very low tensile strength, limited ductility and little resistance to cracking. In order to improve the strength of concrete various types of fiber reinforced concrete are being used against plain concrete due to their higher flexural strength, better tensile strength, modulus of rupture and crack resistance.  The present study is to evaluate the performance of steel fiber reinforced concrete pavement with regard to compressive strength, split tensile, flexural strength, cantabro abrasion loss by varying the percentage of steel fibers from 0.5%, 1%,1.5%,2%,2.5%,3%  by weight of concrete were found out . The type of steel fiber used is of hooked end with aspect ratio 60. The obtained result shows that increase in percentage of steel fiber up to 2% gives the optimum the strength for compressive strength,flexural strength and cantabro abrasion test. And for split tensile strength 1.5% addition of steel fiber gives the maximum strength of cement concrete pavement than the plain concrete

Distribution of aquatic insects in phumdis (floating island) of Loktak Lake, Manipur, northeastern India

A study was made on the temporal fluctuations of distribution of aquatic insects around Phumdi Live (PL), Phumdi Mixed (PM) and Phumdi Dry (PD) areas of Loktak Lake. Phumdis are a heterogeneous mass of soil, vegetation and organic matter. The study revealed the presence of predators, and the absence of herbivores and detritivores in both PL and PM, the PD area was totally devoid of insects. Although both the habitats supported the same predator groups hemiptera and odonata, diversity and density in terms of family and species were higher in PL than in PM. Temporal fluctuations revealed that the Shannon-Weiner’s Diversity Index values were highest in June for both PL (0.726) and PM (0.47). In both the sites the highest density was recorded in February. The relative abundance of hemiptera was higher than that of odonata in most of the months in PL. Phumdi Mixed was represented by one species of hemiptera only, in the month of February and dominated by odonates otherwise. Community composition of odonata larvae did not show any difference between the two habitats. Although the study revealed low diversity and density of insects in both sites, the PL community provided a better habitat to aquatic insects than that of PM. These are of value as fish food and in turn for fish production

Evaluation Of Structural Performance Of Pervious Concrete Containing Waste Tire Rubbers

Pervious concrete provides a sound solution for managing storm waters in built environments where the water runoff as well as the natural recharge of the groundwater is an important issue. The use of pervious concrete is also commonly related to other environmental benefits such as the urban heat Island reduction, traffic noise absorption, and pollutant filtering. At present the disposal of waste tires is becoming a major waste management problem in the world. Hence efforts have been taken to identify the potential application of waste tires in civil engineering projects.  In this context, our present study aims is to investigate the optimal use of waste tire rubber as fine aggregate in pervious concrete composite.  The properties of rubberized plain pervious concrete in terms of the mechanical properties and the permeability were investigated. Two types of rubber (crumb rubber and tire chips) were used in the production of rubberized plain pervious concrete mixtures which obtained by partially replacing the fine aggregate varying from 5% to 20% were considered as experimental parameters. The results are compared with non-rubberized pervious concrete (control) mixture. Rubber incorporated pervious concretes had lower compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity with the increased percentage of replacement. Pervious concretes produced in this study fulfil this requirement as the minimum compressive strength being 4.2 MPa in the mix 20TC (tire chips). Permeability coefficients (K) of the rubberized pervious concretes fell between 0.025 and 0.61 cm/s which are recommended limits for pervious concretes

Experimental Investigation On The Properties Of Cement Concrete Pavement Using Waste Plastic

In this study sand is replaced by waste plastic in two methods, one is by direct replacement in which shredded waste plastic is added directly to concrete and another is by melting plastic with fine aggregates. Density of conventional concrete is high; hence use of plastic in concrete reduces its self-weight. As plastic is not a biodegradable material, it affects the ecological system very badly. Waste plastic is not able to manage, so people started using waste plastic in bituminous pavement construction by replacing bitumen by waste plastic or by addition of waste plastic. There are different types of plastic is available depending on chemical composition and density. Plastic can also be used in form of fibers. In this study concrete with 5% and 10% replacement of plastic with sand which is direct replaced and replacement by melting process. For this study different physical and mechanical properties of concrete were conducted

Experimental Investigation On The Properties Of Pavement Using Waste Plastic In Road Construction

Due to the tremendous increases in population and changes in life style Waste plastic material Management playsan important role and one of the most powerfulconcepts in recent year.Therefore the disposal of waste plastic is a hazardous and become a serious problem globally due to their non-biodegradabilityand burning of these waste plastic bags causes highly environmental pollution.A study was conducted on use of waste Polyethylene Terephthalate in bitumen mixes. Marshall Stability and flow values were used to determine strength and deformation characteristics Strength. A comparison was made between conventional bitumen mixes and Marshall Values of modified mixes. Ideal percentage of waste PET polymer in bitumen mixes was found by varying the % of PET. An investigation was carried out on bituminous mixes modified by addition PET by fix mixing temperature.The PET was added in2 – 12 % (by the weight of optimum bitumen).We can conclude that the stability of PET modified bituminous binders is better compared to that of conventional bituminous binders. Use of waste plastic in bituminous binders contribute protection of environmen

Study on the Performance Characteristics and its Practices of Total Quality Management

The investigation have produced different mixed results, made by various research designs used in different area which used as apparatus to measure TQM and their performance. A collective study was made to recognize the performance study on the impact and non impact of this performance on various stages. Planning study design with the proposed explanation which is evaluated from various employees from different representatives and their data were collected which were gather from the different sources. Structural model with the support of the proposed model gathered from different Sources with the support of the proposed hypotheses. The implications from the study from various researchers and practitioners are discussed and further research directions are offered