Adrenal sparing giant adrenal cyst excision by 3D laparoscopic approach: a case report

Adrenal cyst is rare clinical entity. Usually they are asymptomatic, non-functional, <10 cm in size and often discovered incidentally. We report a left adrenal cyst in 58-year-old woman measuring 23 cm in diameter, displacing left kidney infero-medially and pancreas anteriorly, because of its huge size. She presented with left flank pain over a 6-month period. Serial abdominal ultrasound and CT imaging revealed left suprarenal cystic mass of size 10 cm to begin with and gradually increased to size of 23 cm over period of 10 years when she became symptomatic. All laboratory and endocrine function tests were normal. 3D laparoscopic surgery done and cyst was completely removed with preservation of adrenal gland. Histopathological examination revealed a benign endothelial adrenal cyst. The postoperative course was uneventful and patient had no evidence of recurrence during follow-up. The giant adrenal cysts are relatively rare and represent great surgical challenge during resection.

Activated Carbon Fabric: An Adsorbent Material for Chemical Protective Clothing

Activated carbon fabric or fiber (ACF) is a novel carbonaceous material with exceptionally high adsorption rate and larger adsorption capacity, that has emerged as a rising star in the field of adsorbents. ACF has many advantages over other commercial porous storage materials such as granular activated carbon and powdered activated carbon in terms of adsorption capacity, well defined microporous structure, stability, flexibility and ease of lamination to various substrates. In the last few years, activated carbon fabrics have gained greater choice of interest for use as an adsorbent material in several fields including nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection suit. Viscose rayon, acetate, polyacrylonitrile, pitch, and phenolic based materials are mainly used as precursors for preparation of ACF. ACF or fibres are generally prepared by process comprising stabilisation, carbonisation and activation of precursors. Reviews recent advances and developments in the field of ACF and their utility as an adsorbent material in various fields including NBC scenario. ACF with unmatchable pore structure and surface characteristics at present, with continued innovations and attention to its key challenges, it is expected that ACF will play a pivotal role in diverse environmental, defence, and civil applications

Nanomaterials based Decontamination Formulation for use in Personal Decontamination Kit Against Chemical Warfare Agents

Present paper relates to nanomaterials based decontamination formulation made up of TiO2, MgO, and ZnO nanoparticles for the use against chemical warfare agents. This decontamination formulation was prepared by mixing 90 per cent of TiO2 nanoparticles of 5-15 nm size range, 8 per cent of MgO nanoparticles of 5-15 nm size range, and 2 per cent of ZnO nanoparticles of 20-30 nm size range. Prepared formulation exhibited 98-99 per cent of physical removal efficiency against contaminated glass, rubber, painted metal, metal surfaces. It efficiently removed chemical warfare agents from contaminated skin thus ameliorating chances of fatality which is expected due to skin penetrated chemical warfare agents. It also chemically degraded 97 per cent of sulphur mustard in 24 h, 99.9 per cent of sarin in 2 h, respectively unlike Fuller’s earth which chemically degraded only 63 per cent of sulphur mustard and 59 per cent of sarin in 24 h

EVALUATION OF BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF NANOCRYSTALLINE TETRAGONAL ZIRCONIA SYNTHESIZED VIA SOL-GEL METHOD

Objective: The objective of the following study was a synthesis of nanocrystalline tetragonal zirconia (ZrO2) using simple sol–gel method and evaluation of its structural and biological properties.Methods: The sample was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and evaluated for cell growth study using 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells and for degradation using Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) solution. The synthesized materials were also evaluated for their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacterial strains.Results: The XRD pattern shows that the tetragonal phase of nanocrystalline zirconia was obtained at relatively low temperature i.e. 300 °C. The FESEM images showed that the prepared sample consists of particles in the range of 35-69 nm and homogenous particle size distribution. The TEM images confirmed the results shown by FESEM images. The sample of zirconia has excellent tissue biocompatibility, higher cell growth and does not show the toxicity towards normal 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells. The result of qualitative antibacterial tests revealed that the nanocrystalline zirconia had an important inhibitory activity on E. coli and S. aureus. The sample shows stability at the physiological condition and does not show degradation.Conclusion: Nanocrystalline tetragonal zirconia shows higher cell growth and efficient antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus bacterial pathogen and also it is stable at the physiological condition. Hence, it can be used for various biomedical applications.Keywords: Nanocrystalline zirconia, Sol-gel route, Antimicrobial action, Biomedical applicatio

Apparent Molal Volumes & Viscosities of Valeric Acid & Sodium Valerate in Water

177-17

Efficacy of endometrial aspiration cytology in diagnosis of endometrial pathologies in a tertiary care centre

Introduction: Endometrial pathologies contribute significantly to increased morbidity and mortality in females, and still tend to remain undiagnosed till later stages. Endometrial cytology is one of the most powerful and reliable investigations in detection of various endometrial pathologies, including hyperplasia, malignancies and can be used as an early evaluative modality on routine basis.Objectives: The present study was aimed at assessing the diagnostic efficacy of endometrial aspirate cytology in the diagnosis of various endometrial pathologies in terms of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity etc., considering histopathology as standard . It also involved the study of various morphological patterns ranging across the spectrum of endometrial pathology by aspiration cytology .Material and methods: Using Karmann’s cannula, endometrial aspirate sample was obtained in 106 patients from gynaecology out-patient department and the smears were stained using papanicolaou stain. The findings of cytology were correlated with histopathology.Results: The present study comprises 106 patients. 102 out of 106 samples for cytology were adequate with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 95.1% , a sensitivity of 93.2%, specificity of 97.7%, with 98.2% positive predictive value and 91.3% negative predictive value.Conclusion: Endometrial aspiration cytology is an easy to perform, minimally invasive, safe and cheaper procedure for diagnosing endometrial pathologies. Its results are fairly acceptable with good cyto-histopathological correlation and hence can be used for screening of endometrial pathologies and malignancies

Effect of impact and flexural loading on hybrid composite made of kevlar and natural fibers

In this work, four varieties of hybrid Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) panels made of kevlar-29 and natural fibers are studied. All panels have kevlar-29 face sheets and natural fiber core, such as jute, flax, sisal, and hemp. This research focuses on the behavior of these hybrid FRP panels under flexural and impact loading so that the panels can be explored for the structural/semi-structural members of army shelters, portable helipad, and roofing panels in high-altitude areas. Natural fibers are chemically treated with NaOH to improve hydrophobicity. The panels are vacuum bagged, the fiber volume fraction is 0.39, and the thickness is close to 4 mm. Three-point flexural loading using the universal testing machine and low-velocity impact loading up to 24 J under drop weight impact test setup is carried out to characterize the panels. Damage area, delamination, permanent deformation, indentation depth, energy absorbed, flexural strength, and modulus are measured. The hybrid flax/kevlar panel and hemp/kevlar panel, each resist impact with permanent deformation less than 0.5 mm up to 24 J. Without significant face sheet or core fiber breakage, the delamination is spread over a small radial distance of 18.5 and 24.5 mm, respectively. Interface matrix breakage causes delamination. The load vs deflection curve is almost linear under flexural loading, and specimens failed under compression at 240 MPa. The numerical simulation is also done using ANSYS and LS-DYNA for detailed study