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

Internet of things and blockchain integration for security and privacy

The internet of things (IoT) can be defined as a network of intelligent objects where physical objects are equipped with electronic and network components to enable connectivity. These smart objects are embedded with sensors that enable them to monitor, sense, and gather data pertaining to their surroundings, including the environment and human activities. The applications of IoT, both existing and forthcoming, show great promise in terms of enhancing convenience, efficiency, and automation in our daily lives. However, for the widespread adoption and effective implementation of the IoT, addressing concerns related to security, authentication, privacy, and recovery from potential attacks is crucial. To achieve end-to-end security in IoT environments, it is imperative to define standard framework to achieve end to end security for the IoT applications. The blockchain is distributed ledge offers advantages such as confidentiality, authenticity, and availability. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to provide security and privacy for heterogeneous IoT architecture with integration of blockchain. The framework has provided an assessment framework to deploy, govern physical deployment. The proposed framework has defined standard architecture to integrate blockchain with layered IoT architecture with customization in blockchain with lightweight cryptography and consensus mechanism to overcome integration challenges and to achieve authenticity, security, and privacy

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

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

Review: A Detail Comparison with Analysis of Computer-Aided Breast Cancer Detection Techniques

Breast cancer is the deadliest cancer all over the world for women. A breast Cancer diagnosis at an early stage is important for women, to minimize the damage, discomfort and provide a potential cure. Mammography is the most reliable screening tool for the identification of any signs of malignancy or abnormality about the cyst. There are many invasive cancer diagnosis methods available but that all are painful and costly. Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) are dynamic tools that can support radiologists to detect and classify mammographic abnormalities. In this digitalized era, CAD is the need of the medical field. In CAD for breast cancer detection allows the oncologist and the physicians a second opinion, and it saves their time and reduces the false positive probability in the breast cancer diagnosis process. Advanced classification techniques and enhanced image processing and segmentation are needed to enhance the performance of CAD

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

EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEMS FOR EX-VIVO AND IN-VITRO STUDIES OF BLAST-INDUCED TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) has been widely accepted as a \u201csignature\u201d wound affecting military service members in modern conflicts. When a blast-wave generated by an improvised explosive device explosion propagates through the human head, it is hypothesized to cause direct mechanical damage to the brain tissue leading to vascular injury, cerebral edema as well as less detectable but persistent deficits. However, the exact mechanisms and pathophysiology of bTBI still remain poorly understood. One of the main reasons for such poor understanding is the technical challenge of reproducing the typical time-varying loading cycles induced on brain tissue after a blast event under controlled laboratory conditions. Blast events have a sub-millisecond onset of high pressure followed by complex dynamics resulting from the interaction between the blast wave and the intricate anatomical structure of the human head. This interaction gives rise to time-varying intracranial pressure profiles, dynamic shear loads, and cavitation events, which are hypothesized to cause mechanical insults to the brain tissue.To tackle these experimental challenges, we have developed four experimental devices that can reproduce the dominant intracranial effects induced by blast loading onto the brain. These experimental devices are: (1) Multi-material Hopkinson bar (MMHB) actuator, (2) Generator of broadband pressure cycles, (3) Rig for controlled-cavitation events, and (4) Generator of dynamic shear cycles. This dissertation details the design and development of the aforementioned experimental systems along with the preliminary ex-vivo and in-vitro experiments performed to test their applicability. The designed apparatuses are comparably inexpensive, compact, easily portable, and highly controllable, making them well suited for biomedical applications. These devices can be used to conduct ex-vivo and in-vitro experiments involving animal brain tissue specimens, cell cultures, and organoids to explore their pathophysiological response to the blast-like loadings observed during a bTBI event.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Mechanical Engineering - Doctor of Philosophy, 2021Includes bibliographical reference

“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

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

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