Epidemiological Study of Thermal Burn Deaths at a Tertiary Care Centre in Mumbai, India

Background: Fire is a well-known double edged sword for human beings as it has served as well as destroyed mankind. Death due to thermal burns is burning topic all over the globe.Methods: Total 109 cases of death due to fatal thermal burns which were brought for the autopsy examination at Seth G. S. Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India, during the period of January 2014 to July 2015, were considered for present study.Results: Out of 1771 medico-legal post-mortem examinations done during study period 109 (6.14%) were deaths due to thermal burns. Females accounted for 92 (84.4%) cases while 17 (15.6%) were males. Maximum number of cases 49 (44.95%) were seen in 21- 30 years age group. Maximum victims 87 (79.82%) were Hindus. Urban deaths accounted 81 (74.31%) whereas 27 (24.77%) were from rural area. Kitchen was the most common place of occurrence accounting for 65 (59.63%) cases. Maximum incidences occurred in winter contributing 39 (35.78%) deaths. Maximum vulnerability was observed in early evening hours accounting for 19 (17.43%) incidences. Maximum 41 (37.61%) victims survived up to a period of 3 to 7 days. Considering the level of education, maximum victims 50 (45.87%) were educated up to primary school level. Housewives 73 (66.92%) were the most vulnerable victims. Socio-economic status shows maximum cases are from upper lower and lower middle class population.Conclusion: Considering the religion-wise population distribution in India, location of the study centre and exposure of Indian females to fire during cooking, all these results can be justified

Death of a Pedestrian due to Fatal Scrotal Trauma: a Case Report

Background: Male external genitalia comprising penis and scrotum though exposed externally, being a mobile anatomical structure are less prone to injuries during a vehicular accident. Injuries are reported usually during sports activities, violent sexual acts and sometimes vehicular accidents. Injuries to scrotum, penis or adjoining structures may lead to temporary or permanent impotence or infertility or both.Case Report: A 53 years old male sustained injuries as a result of accident with a car while he was walking along the roadside. He was brought immediately to a tertiary care hospital and was treated by a quick response team of doctors in emergency department. Despite of all resuscitative measures by expert doctors, he could not be revived. Autopsy revealed enlarged bluish red colored scrotum with loss of rugosities associated with multiple other injuries. On dissection of scrotum, it was showing a dark red colored hematoma covering whole scrotum. Most frequently, hematoma covering whole scrotum is due to rupture of tunica albuginea, with tunica vaginalis pooling to the epididymis. Death in this case was attributed to scrotal injury.Conclusion: Even though blunt trauma is the commonest mechanism causing about 85% of scrotal trauma, it is often missed on routine autopsy procedure. At least in cases of instantaneous death following a vehicular accident, scrotum must be properly examined

Rupture of Heart in a Cannabis Addict: an Autopsy Case Report

Background: Cannabis sativa or indica also known as Indian hemp is most widely used illicit drug in the world in its various forms such as bhang, majoon, ganja, charas or hashis. It affects various systems of human body on virtue of its active principle i.e. delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Its effect on cardiovascular system such as dose dependant increase in heart rate, arrhythmia and increased occurrence of myocardial infarction are well known.Case Report: In present case, a 42 years old male, addicted to ingestion of ‘bhang’ and suffering from psychiatric illness was brought to the hospital with history of headache and vomiting since last 12 hours. There was history of his violent behaviour, hence he was kept locked in a room for few hours and then relieved. He was treated for few hours and succumbed to death. On autopsy, patent coronaries and rupture of anterior wall of heart, in the vicinity of inter-ventricular septum was revealed.Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, no such case was found in the literature. Treatment of patients with history of cannabis addiction must be focused in the view of acute cardiac conditions

Biodegradable Poly(hydroxy Butyrate-co-valerate) Nanocomposites And Blends With Poly(butylene Adipate-co-terephthalate) For Sensor Applications

The utilization of biodegradable polymers is critical for developing “cradle to cradle” mindset with ecological, social and economic consequences. Poly(hydroxy butyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV) shows significant potential for many applications with a polypropylene equivalent mechanical performance. However, it has limitations including high crystallinity, brittleness, small processing window, etc. which need to be overcome before converting them into useful products. Further the development of biodegradable strain sensing polymer sensors for structural health monitoring has been a growing need. In this dissertation I utilize carbon nanotubes as a self sensing dispersed nanofiller. The impact of its addition on PHBV and a blend of PHBV with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) polymer was examined. Nanocomposites and blends of PHBV, PBAT, and MWCNTs were prepared by melt-blending. The effect of MWCNTs on PHBV crystallinity, crystalline phase, quasi-static and dynamic mechanical property was studied concurrently with piezoresistive response. In PHBV/PBAT blends a rare phenomenon of melting point elevation by the addition of low melting point PBAT was observed. The blends of these two semicrystalline aliphatic and aromatic polyesters were investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry, small angle X-ray scattering, dynamic mechanical analysis, surface energy measurement by contact angle method, polarized optical and scanning electron microscopy, and rheology. The study revealed a transition of immiscible blend compositions to miscible blend compositions across the 0-100 composition range. PHBV10, 20, and 30 were determined to be miscible blends based on a single Tg and rheological properties. The inter-relation between stress, strain, morphological structure and piezoresistive response of MWCNT filled PHBV and PHBV/PBAT blend system was thoroughly investigated. The outcomes of piezoreistivity study indicated MWCNT filled PHBV and PHBV/PBAT blend system as a viable technology for structural health monitoring. Finally, the compostability of pure polymer, blend system, and MWCNT filled system was studied indicating that PBAT and CNT decreased the biodegradability of PHBV with CNT being a better contributor than PBAT

“STRUCTURALANDɳBSTUDY OF In3+SUBSTITUTED YTTRIUM IRONGARNET”

Objective: To prepare and study the In3+substituted yttrium iron garnet with reference to structural parameters and IR spectra Materials and Methods: In3+ was added in to yttrium iron garnet (YIG) with a nominal composition of Y3InxFe5-xO12 with x= 0.0, 0.2 and 0.6. The Samples were prepared by a solid-state sintering method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction technique. The X-ray diffraction studies of compositions revealed the formation of single phase cubic structure with lattice constant ranging from 12.37Å to 12.44 Å. The FTIR spectra of typical samples are taken in the range of 500-4000cm-1. Results:IR spectra show typical absorption bands indicating the garnet nature of samples. Conclusion: Magneton number 'ɳB'decreases with increasing In3+ content x

Medical Insurance Fraud Detection Using Machine Learning

Medical insurance fraud poses significant challenges to the healthcare industry, impacting financial resources and patient care. This research explores the application of machine learning methodologies to detect fraudulent activities within healthcare insurance claims. Medical insurance fraud detection is crucial to help insurance companies save money. Machine learning is a powerful tool that can be used to detect fraudulent activities in the healthcare industry. Fraud can be spread broadly and extremely costly to the therapeutic protection framework. Protection can be made unscrupulous and be a case designed to hide or alter such information meant for social insurance benefits. Cheats might be numerous and submitted by the protection guarantor or the safeguarded. The unscrupulous social insurance providers are the reason for extortion in the well-being segment. This research approach is to apply machine learning to find incidents of medical insurance fraud automatically. In conclusion, machine learning is a promising tool for detecting medical insurance fraud. It can help insurers detect fraudulent activities in real time, saving money on bogus claims

Massive Subcutaneous Emphysema, Pneumothorax and Pneumoscrotum: Diagnostic Dilemma on Autopsy

Background: Subcutaneous emphysema is when gas or air in the layer under the skin. It literally means trapped air in the tissues beneath skin. It has characteristic crackling feel to touch, a sensation that has been described as similar to touching to Rice Krispies; this sensations under skin is called as subcutaneous crepitation.Case Report: A 50-years old male sustained injuries allegedly as a result of vehicular accident and was taken to a nearby private hospital. He was intubated there and then referred to a tertiary care hospital. He succumbed to death during transportation and was declared as brought dead on arrival. His body was brought for autopsy.Conclusion: There was massive subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax and pneumoscrotum. Their origin created a dilemma on autopsy due to various reasons. It is discussed in detail and tried to track the origin

Correlation of Vitamin D deficiency with Type 2 diabetes and metabolic traits in the Indian population

Background: In India, 30-50% of children and 50-80% of adults are Vitamin D deficient. Limited data exists to assess the association of Vitamin D status, Type 2 diabetes (T2D), and metabolic traits in Indians. This study was conducted to assess the correlation of Vitamin D deficiency with T2D and metabolic risk factors in the Indian population.Methods: Patients of either gender visiting medicine outpatient department over a period of 1-year and with Vitamin D deficiency (levels <20 ng/ml), not taking Vitamin D supplements and having T2D were selected for the study. Participants were tested for serum Vitamin D, fasting blood sugar, and lipid profile parameters. Correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and blood sugar and Vitamin D deficiency and lipid profile was assessed using Pearson’s correlation test.Results: Out of 144 subjects, number of diabetic patients were 74 (51.38%) and non-diabetic patients were 70 (48.61%). Among diabetic patients, 10/74 (13.51%) were Vitamin D deficient and among non-diabetic patients, 20/70 (28.57%) were Vitamin D deficient. There was an inverse correlation between Vitamin D and total cholesterol (p=0.01) and Vitamin D and low-density lipoprotein (p=0.01), and it was statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusion: Assessment of Vitamin D levels can be useful in diabetic patients as its deficiency is associated with T2D

“STUDY OF STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS AND CATION DISTRIBUTION OF CU2+ IONS SUBSTITUTED NICKEL FERRITES”

&nbsp;Objective: To prepare and study the Cu2+ion substituted nickel ferrites with reference to structural parameters and cation distribution Materials and Methods: The samples of Cu2+ substituted nickel ferrites having the composition formula Ni1-XCuXFe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.4, 0.8.) were prepared by solid state reaction technique using AR grade oxides. The formation of mono phase cubic spinel structure of all the samples under investigation have been carried out using XRD technique at room temperature. X-ray diffraction data were used to calculate structural parameters and X-ray intensity ratios were calculated for selected planes (220), (400), (440) and compared with the observed intensity ratios in order to obtain cation distribution. Results: The results of the cation distribution indicate that Cu2+ and Fe3+ occupy both sites whereas Ni2+ occupy octahedral B site. In this work we report our results on structural parameters and cation distribution of mixed Ni-Cu spinel ferrites. Conclusion: The structural parameters of nickel-copper system increases with Copper ions

A Rare Case of Webbed Penis in an Alleged Accused of Sexual Assault

Background: Webbed penis is a rare congenital anomaly of penis which can be presented in late childhood or adolescence. It can be present in isolation or can also occur in combination with hypospadias, chordee, and micropenis.Case Report: A 42-years old unmarried male, working as tailor was brought by police with alleged history of sexual assault with 6 years old girl. On examination of penis and scrotum, the penoscrotal fusion extending from the preputial skin to the scrotal wall was seen suggestive of simple type, grade-03 webbed penis.Conclusion: In cases of alleged accused of sexual offences having webbed penis without having any other penile deformity will not to be considered as legitimate cause of impotency