Acute pancreatitis: a study of urine trypsinogen-2 measurement as a screening test

Background: Usefulness of urine trypsinogen-2 as screening test for acute pancreatitis in Indian population.Methods:We prospectively compared the urinary trypsinogen-2 dipstick test and serum amylase assays in 100 consecutive patients with acute abdominal pain at the emergency department. Urine samples were obtained on admission and tested for the dipstick. The diagnosis of acute pancreatitis was made on the basis of a typical clinical picture and serum amylase at least more than threefold the upper reference limit (300 IU) and/or radiological evidence (Abdominal X ray/ultrasonography/contrast enhanced CT).Results: 1. Urine trypsinogen-2 dipstick test was having 100% sensitivity and 85.71% specificity in diagnosing acute pancreatitis in Indian population. 2. Serum amylase was having 61.36% sensitivity and 78.57% specificity in diagnosing acute pancreatitis. 3. Sensitivity and specificity of urine trypsinogen-2 dipstick test is more than that of serum amylase in diagnosing acute pancreatitis which is statistically proved to be significant (P <0.05).Conclusion:Detection of trypsinogen-2 in urine is a simple office test in diagnosing acute pancreatitis in emergency department. As the sensitivity and specificity are high, detection of urine trypsinogen-2 in urine can be used as a screening test, which will definitely help in early diagnosis and prompt treatment of acute pancreatitis.

Influence of Exposure Environments on the Durability of Slag-Blended Cements

Both chlorides and sulphates combine in seawater to affect the durability of reinforced concrete structures located in marine environments. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on slag blended cement systems, cured for 7 days, before exposure to a combined solution of sodium chloride (30 g/L) and sodium sulphate (3 g/L). Two slags of different chemical compositions, designated as slags 1 and 2 were respectively blended with Portland cement CEM I 52.5R at 30 and 70 wt.% replacement levels. Mechanical tests on mortar samples were complemented by microstructural examination and chemical characterisation on paste samples, all using a constant w/b ratio of 0.5, to investigate the influence of exposure environment. The exposure environments include water and ponding in combined chloride-sulphate solution at 20 °C and 38 °C (to reflect temperate and tropical climates). The results show that temperature has a significant effect on the durability of slag blends. Reduced sorptivity at higher temperature led to reduced chloride penetration at early age. This effect is less so at later age. Compressive strength generally improved with increase in chloride penetration. SEM-EDX elemental analysis provided a good basis for following chloride penetration profile. XRD analysis showed the conversion of monosulphate to ettringite, Friedel’s salt and Kuzel’s salt upon exposure to salt solution, which possibly led to improved sorptivity and mechanical properties

Effects of Temperature and Curing Duration on the Stability of Slag Cements in Combined Chloride-Sulphate Environments

This experimental study investigates the effects of temperature and curing duration on the stability of slag blended cement systems exposed at 20 °C and 38 °C to combined sodium chloride (30 g/L) – sodium sulphate (3 g/L) solutions. Two slags, designated as slag 1 and 2, having CaO/SiO2 ratios of 1.05 and 0.94, were respectively blended with Portland cement CEM I 52.5R at 30 wt.% replacement level. Mortar prisms and cubes with w/b ratio of 0.5 and binder/aggregate ratio of 1:3 were then prepared for length and mass changes. The samples were cured in lime water for either 7 or 28 days before ponding for a total exposure period of 544 days. Analogous paste samples were also prepared to follow changes in the hydration products using x-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that curing at 38°C resulted in less expansion and prolonged curing generally reduced expansion except for slag 1 blend at 20 °C. Also, mass-change was minimal at 38 °C compared to 20 °C, and curing up to 28 days further improved mass stability. There was a positive correlation between mass change and length change for the period of investigation

Engineering Performance of a New Siloxane-Based Corrosion Inhibitor

This paper presents an evaluation of a new non-toxic corrosion inhibitor on selected engineering properties of concrete mixes with different cementitious materials following a corrosion and durability study on concrete samples. Corrosion inhibitors consist of powders or solutions which are added to concrete when mixed to prevent or delay corrosion of steel by their reaction with ferrous ions to form a stable and passive ferric oxide film on the steel surface. The new inhibitor functions slightly differently and its corrosion inhibition effect is due to the formation of a siloxane coating on the steel surface. Therefore, the performance of the new inhibitor in concrete mixes manufactured with CEM I, PFA and GGBS cements was compared against a well known and established corrosion inhibitor on the market, namely calcium nitrite in terms of their effect on workability (measured in terms of slump), compressive strength, freeze–thaw durability and macro-cell corrosion. The results from this experimental programme have demonstrated that the new inhibitor is effective in reducing or slowing down corrosion. In addition, it was found that CEM I concrete containing the new inhibitor was less penetrable to chlorides than that without. A similar set of results was obtained for the freeze– thaw resistance, but the compressive strength was found to decrease with the addition of the new inhibitor. In the case of concretes containing PFA and GGBS, the new inhibitor was found to be less effective. Further, long-term investigations are recommended to assess the effectiveness over time

Methods of assessing the durability and service life of concrete structures

Characterisation of cover concrete is often the most viable means for assessing the durability and has become increasingly evident over the past 20 years. A variety of field methods and laboratory techniques exist, which provide a number of properties, such as air permeability index, water absorption rate, water permeability index, chloride diffusivity, electrical resistivity, moisture content and porosity gradient. Most techniques are economical and appropriate for assessing the durability of structures subjected to a single mechanism of deterioration. In reality, structures may face multiple deterioration mechanisms, stress/strains due to both environmental and structural loading and related acceleration of deterioration. Developing an understanding of such multimode deterioration may help in addressing the performance gap between laboratory and field. In this paper, a brief review of some of the ways by which a performance testing strategy could be developed is given so that service life prediction could be more realistic

Identification of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Markers in Endemic Yellow Catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther 1864)

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was applied to individuals of Horabagrus brachysoma sampled from three geographic locations of Western Ghat river systems in India. Of the thirty-two 10-mer RAPD primers screened initially, ten were chosen and used in a comparative analysis of H. brachysoma collected from Chalakkudy, Meenachil and Nethravathi river systems. A total of 124 RAPD fragments were amplified, out of which 49 (39.51%) were found to be shared by individuals of all three river systems. The remaining 75 fragments were found to be polymorphic (60.48%). This confirms the suitability of RAPD markers for the study of population genetic structure in yellow catfish stocks

Repeatability and Reliability of New Air and Water Permeability Tests for Assessing the Durability of High Performance Concretes

This paper reports on the accuracy of new test methods developed to measure the air and water permeability of high-performance concretes (HPCs). Five representative HPC and one normal concrete (NC) mixtures were tested to estimate both repeatability and reliability of the proposed methods. Repeatability acceptance was adjudged using values of signal-noise ratio (SNR) and discrimination ratio (DR), and reliability was investigated by comparing against standard laboratory-based test methods (i.e., the RILEM gas permeability test and BS EN water penetration test). With SNR and DR values satisfying recommended criteria, it was concluded that test repeatability error has no significant influence on results. In addition, the research confirmed strong positive relationships between the proposed test methods and existing standard permeability assessment techniques. Based on these findings, the proposed test methods show strong potential to become recognized as international methods for determining the permeability of HPCs

Incidence of tennis elbow and association of hand grip strength among college students

Background: Lateral epicondylitis is an overuse injury involving the origin of common extensor tendon at elbow joint. Among the college students there is more complaint on wrist and elbow. Objective was to find out the incidence of tennis elbow & grip strength among the students during the entire academic year.Methods: Three hundred and seventy subjects fulfilled the inclusion criteria with age respondents between seventeen to twenty four years. This study is done in those students who have local tenderness on palpation over the lateral epicondyle (grade 2). NPRS was used for measuring the pain intensity. Mill’s test and Cozen’s test was performed to confirm the tennis elbow. The subject is asked to squeeze the dynamometer three times with left and right hand respectively. There was one minute resting period between each squeeze were taken into account.Results: The incidence of confirmed tennis elbow was 4.05% & 2.70% in right and left respectively. Among those participants Mill’s test was positive in 16.2% on right and left side and Cozen’s test was positive in 8.1% on right side and 5.4% on left side. The mean rank of left and right grip strength for the students who are confirmed as tennis elbow were 52.75 Kg and 50.67 Kg and for not-confirmed were 36.56 Kg and 36.41 Kg respectively.Conclusions: The study concluded that 6.7% incidence rate of tennis elbow was observed in college students during the entire academic year. And also concluded there is no much significance correlation between grip strength and tennis elbow incidence rate