DEXMEDETOMIDINE PREMEDICATION WITH KETAMINE AND PROPOFOL DURING BURNS DEBRIDEMENT AND DRESSINGS

Background: Burn patients undergo frequent extensive burn debridement and painful dressing changes. Ketamine and Propofol are the most common anesthetic used along with Opioids and Benzodiazepines in burns dressings. Studies have shown that concomitant use of Dexmedetomidine with Propofol and Ketamine. Objectives: To study the effects of Dexmedetomidine as premedication with Ketamine and Propofol as sole anesthetic agents during burns debridement and dressing. Materials and methods: Total 60 Patients of scheduled for elective burn debridement and dressings at P.R.H. Loni admitted in the wards were enrolled for the study. Patients satisfying the following eligibility criteria were selected and grouped those who received Ketamine and Propofol (Group B) with and without Dexmedetomidine (Group A) and both the groups were assessed to find out difference in the dose requirement, haemodynamic variables and recovery time (using Ramsay Sedation scale). Results: The haemodynamic parameters like heart rate, systolic and diastolic Blood pressure was significantly higher in Group A as compared to Group B. The recovery time in Group A was 12.9 mins as compared to 9.5 mins in Group B. It was observed that dose requirement of Ketamine (228.8±21.9) and Propofol (263.2 ± 22.5) was significantly more in Group A as compared to Group B (101.1±20.3 and 120.8±22.4 respectively).Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine (1μg/kg IM dose) is a good anaesthetic adjuvant that decreases the requirement of Propofol and Ketamine during burns debridement and dressings, maintains stable intraoperative haemodynamics and also has an excellent recovery profile. Key words: Dexmedetomidine; Haemodynamic Changes; Ketamine; Propofol; Recovery Time

DEXMEDETOMIDINE PREMEDICATION WITH KETAMINE AND PROPOFOL DURING BURNS DEBRIDEMENT AND DRESSINGS

Background: Burn patients undergo frequent extensive burn debridement and painful dressing changes. Ketamine and Propofol are the most common anesthetic used along with Opioids and Benzodiazepines in burns dressings. Studies have shown that concomitant use of Dexmedetomidine with Propofol and Ketamine. Objectives: To study the effects of Dexmedetomidine as premedication with Ketamine and Propofol as sole anesthetic agents during burns debridement and dressing. Materials and methods: Total 60 Patients of scheduled for elective burn debridement and dressings at P.R.H. Loni admitted in the wards were enrolled for the study. Patients satisfying the following eligibility criteria were selected and grouped those who received Ketamine and Propofol (Group B) with and without Dexmedetomidine (Group A) and both the groups were assessed to find out difference in the dose requirement, haemodynamic variables and recovery time (using Ramsay Sedation scale). Results: The haemodynamic parameters like heart rate, systolic and diastolic Blood pressure was significantly higher in Group A as compared to Group B. The recovery time in Group A was 12.9 mins as compared to 9.5 mins in Group B. It was observed that dose requirement of Ketamine (228.8±21.9) and Propofol (263.2 ± 22.5) was significantly more in Group A as compared to Group B (101.1±20.3 and 120.8±22.4 respectively).Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine (1μg/kg IM dose) is a good anaesthetic adjuvant that decreases the requirement of Propofol and Ketamine during burns debridement and dressings, maintains stable intraoperative haemodynamics and also has an excellent recovery profile. Key words: Dexmedetomidine; Haemodynamic Changes; Ketamine; Propofol; Recovery Time

An environmentally benign antimicrobial nanoparticle based on a silver-infused lignin core

Silver nanoparticles have antibacterial properties, but their use has been a cause for concern because they persist in the environment. Here, we show that lignin nanoparticles infused with silver ions and coated with a cationic polyelectrolyte layer form a biodegradable and green alternative to silver nanoparticles. The polyelectrolyte layer promotes the adhesion of the particles to bacterial cell membranes and, together with silver ions, can kill a broad spectrum of bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and quaternary-amine-resistant Ralstonia sp. Ion depletion studies have shown that the bioactivity of these nanoparticles is time-limited because of the desorption of silver ions. High-throughput bioactivity screening did not reveal increased toxicity of the particles when compared to an equivalent mass of metallic silver nanoparticles or silver nitrate solution. Our results demonstrate that the application of green chemistry principles may allow the synthesis of nanoparticles with biodegradable cores that have higher antimicrobial activity and smaller environmental impact than metallic silver nanoparticles

Working Group Report: Heavy-Ion Physics and Quark-Gluon Plasma

This is the report of Heavy Ion Physics and Quark-Gluon Plasma at WHEPP-09 which was part of Working Group-4. Discussion and work on some aspects of Quark-Gluon Plasma believed to have created in heavy-ion collisions and in early universe are reported.Comment: 20 pages, 6 eps figures, Heavy-ion physics and QGP activity report in "IX Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-09)" held in Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India, during January 3-14, 2006. To be published in PRAMANA - Journal of Physics (Indian Academy of Science

Glassy State Lead Tellurite Nanobelts: Synthesis and Properties

The lead tellurite nanobelts have been first synthesized in the composite molten salts (KNO3/LiNO3) method, which is cost-effective, one-step, easy to control, and performed at low-temperature and in ambient atmosphere. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectrum, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and FT-IR spectrum are used to characterize the structure, morphology, and composition of the samples. The results show that the as-synthesized products are amorphous and glassy nanobelts with widths of 200–300 nm and lengths up to tens of microns and the atomic ratio of Pb:Te:O is close to 1:1.5:4. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and investigations of the corresponding structure and morphology change confirm that the nanobelts have low glass transition temperature and thermal stability. Optical diffuse reflectance spectrum indicates that the lead tellurite nanobelts have two optical gaps at ca. 3.72 eV and 4.12 eV. Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum and fluorescence imaging of the products exhibit a blue emission (round 480 nm)

Cell-Specific DNA Methylation Patterns of Retina-Specific Genes

Many studies have demonstrated that epigenetic mechanisms are important in the regulation of gene expression during embryogenesis, gametogenesis, and other forms of tissue-specific gene regulation. We sought to explore the possible role of epigenetics, specifically DNA methylation, in the establishment and maintenance of cell type-restricted gene expression in the retina. To assess the relationship between DNA methylation status and expression level of retinal genes, bisulfite sequence analysis of the 1000 bp region around the transcription start sites (TSS) of representative rod and cone photoreceptor-specific genes and gene expression analysis were performed in the WERI and Y79 human retinoblastoma cell lines. Next, the homologous genes in mouse were bisulfite sequenced in the retina and in non-expressing tissues. Finally, bisulfite sequencing was performed on isolated photoreceptor and non-photoreceptor retinal cells isolated by laser capture microdissection. Differential methylation of rhodopsin (RHO), retinal binding protein 3 (RBP3, IRBP) cone opsin, short-wave-sensitive (OPN1SW), cone opsin, middle-wave-sensitive (OPN1MW), and cone opsin, long-wave-sensitive (OPN1LW) was found in the retinoblastoma cell lines that inversely correlated with gene expression levels. Similarly, we found tissue-specific hypomethylation of the promoter region of Rho and Rbp3 in mouse retina as compared to non-expressing tissues, and also observed hypomethylation of retinal-expressed microRNAs. The Rho and Rbp3 promoter regions were unmethylated in expressing photoreceptor cells and methylated in non-expressing, non-photoreceptor cells from the inner nuclear layer. A third regional hypomethylation pattern of photoreceptor-specific genes was seen in a subpopulation of non-expressing photoreceptors (Rho in cones from the Nrl −/− mouse and Opn1sw in rods). These results demonstrate that a number of photoreceptor-specific genes have cell-specific differential DNA methylation that correlates inversely with their expression level. Furthermore, these cell-specific patterns suggest that DNA methylation may play an important role in modulating photoreceptor gene expression in the developing mammalian retina