J.K. Singh

Toxicity Due to Arsenic in Gangetic Zone of Patna, India and Its Linkage with Cancer

Arsenic (As), a well-known environmental toxicant naturally found in rocks in the earth’s crust contaminates groundwater. Patna, a highly populated district of Bihar, India, is situated on the banks of the river Ganges in the area commonly referred to as the Gangetic-Zone. The entire district of Patna is divided into 23 blocks. The purpose of this study was to assess the concentration of As in drinking water and blood samples of people residing in different blocks of Patna. Drinking water and blood samples were collected from all 23 blocks of Patna. Estimation of As in water samples was done using Arsenic Kit. The observed value was further validated using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry with Vapor Generation Assembly (AAS-VGA). More than 50 ppb of As was observed in drinking water samples of 15 blocks (Athmalgola, Bakhtiyarpur, Barh, Belchhi, Bikram, Bihta, Daniyawan, Dulhin Bazaar, Fatuha, Ghoswari, Khusrupur, Maner, Mokama, Paliganj and Pandarakh). A concentration of more than100 ppb of As was detected in the samples from Danapur and Naubatpur, which is more than10 times the WHO permissible limit of 10 ppb. Sample population exhibited high incidence of cancers of various organs such as skin, breast, liver, and gall bladder. Nodular keratosis on palm and sole of the affected population was also observed. As contamination was not observed in the blood samples of healthy people included in the study. The study showed that surveyed population of blocks of Patna district with high As accumulation in groundwater had a high accumulation of As in their blood samples. High incidence of cancers of skin, liver, breast and gall bladder was also observed in these blocks. The study therefore demonstrates a high degree of correlation between elevated groundwater As concentration and high As concentration in blood stream of persons affected by cancer. The study further concludes that As accumulation is one of the factors causing high rate of cancer in affected areas.

Comfort and compressional characteristics of padding bandages.

BACKGROUND Padding bandage is an essential component of the multi-layer compression system used for chronic venous management. Padding plays a critical role in managing pressure over bony prominences and ensuring uniform pressure distribution around the limb circumference. Moreover, it helps in the management of heat, moisture and body fluids or exudates during the course of treatment to provide comfort to the patients. OBJECTIVE To study the effect of structural and constructional parameters on the compressional (pressure absorption or distribution) and comfort (air, moisture and heat transmission) characteristics of the padding. METHODS This research focuses on the examination of polypropylene based nonwoven padding samples. Critical factors, i.e., fiber linear density, needling density and mass per unit area, have been chosen for this study to find their significance on the performance of padding. Simple laboratory based methods have been proposed to examine pressure reduction and comfort characteristics of the padding. RESULTS Pressure absorption by the padding decreases with increase in mass per unit area and needling density of the padding. A padding composed of thicker fiber absorbs more pressure compared to padding made from thinner fiber. On examining comfort, it was found that the air and moisture vapor transmission increase with decrease in mass per unit area and needling density but have opposite effects with fiber linear density (p<0.01). The heat transmission decreases with increase in both mass per unit area and fiber linear density but has opposite effect for needling density. CONCLUSION Padding composed of thick fiber with low mass per unit area and needling density could be more effective in pressure management and ensuring comfort. These results could be very useful for health practitioners, fabric engineers and manufactures to understand the significance of fibrous materials and their role in compression management, and could be further used as design consideration to optimized padding performance.

Characterization of liquid transport in needle-punched nonwovens. I. Wicking under infinite liquid reservoir

The study of wicking characteristics of fibrous materials has received significant attention from both academic and industry over many decades. Wicking describes the liquid transport behavior of fibrous assemblies, and plays a critical role in the processing and end use of nonwovens in many application areas including medical, geotextiles, filtration, etc. However, the analysis of wicking in a nonwoven materials is complex because of random arrangement of capillary tubes formed by fibers, and therefore, we must have to rely on the experimental techniques to appraise their wicking performance. In the present work, the wicking characteristics (rate and amount of liquid rise) of different nonwovens (made from polypropylene fibers) under an unlimited or infinite liquid reservoir system has been analyzed using a newly developed computerized wicking apparatus based on capacitance principle. Some factors, i.e., fiber denier, mass per unit area and needling density, were chosen for the experimental plan to find their significance on the vertical wicking. It has been found that the rate and extent of wicking is significantly affected by changing the levels of above factors (p<0.05). The rate and amount of liquid rise was increasing with increase in needling density and mass per unit area of nonwoven samples. Samples made from higher fiber denier (15 denier) were showing poor wicking results compared to lower denier samples (2.5 and 6 denier). Further work is still needed to examine other factors on the wicking to further improve our understanding of liquid transport in such highly complex porous networks.

WITHANIA SOMNIFERA PROTECTS THE HAEMATOLOGICAL ALTERATIONS CAUSED BY SODIUM ARSENITE IN CHARLES FOSTER RATS

Thi s study was carried out to investigate the therapeutic role of the ethanolic extract of Withania somnifera on Sodium Arsenite induced haematological alterations in rats. Oral administration of sodium a rsenite at the dose of 8 mg/kg body weight daily caused haematological alterations in rats as manifested by the significant decrease in RBC’s count, Haemoglobin percentage, Haematocrit, Mean Cell Volume of RBC’s (MCV), Mean Cell Haemoglobin (MCH), Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) and White Blood Cell Count (WBC’s) as compared with control. The Lipid peroxidation also showed elevated levels in comparison to control. But, after o ral administration of ethanolic extract of Withania somnifera at the dose of 2 00 mg/kg body weight daily for 30 days to Sodium Arsenite pre treated rats there was an increase in the haematological parameters as well as lipid peroxidation levels decreased significantly. The study reveals that ethanolic extract of Withania somnifera possesses protective effect against haematological alterations caused by arsenic induced toxicity .

Liquid transmission characteristics of padding bandages under pressure

Padding is an essential component in a multilayer compression bandaging system, used inside the compression bandage through which substantial amount of pressure is exerted on the limb of patient for treatment of venous leg ulcers. As a result, the liquid transmission behavior of padding is also critical in managing body fluids or sweat exuded from the affected limb, reducing the excessive moisture build-up around the wound and thereby ensuring comfort to and hence a better compliance from the patients. This study investigates the in-plane fluid transport characteristics of needle-punched nonwoven padding bandages. It first reviewed the existing studies related to the problems, and discussed their limits and possible improvements in dealing with complex fluid transport issues in textile porous media. The measurement of fluid transport under different pressure levels was then done using a newly designed apparatus capable of simultaneously tracing the liquid in-plane spreading along different directions, and obtaining several transport characteristics of a testing sample, e.g. the liquid flow anisotropy, the rate of movement, the area of wet surface with time, etc. Also the effects of several important factors, such as the levels of pressure applied, the specimen bulk density, and needling density of the padding products, have been experimentally investigated. In addition, based on an extended Lucas–Washburn theory, we calculated the liquid flow distance, both instantaneous speed and a more useful time-averaged speed v av at any given direction, and also defined a flow anisotropy index I A as a convenient parameter to represent the material flow anisotropy. The applications of v av and I A to actual samples have demonstrated the usefulness of these parameters in characterizing the flow nature and behavior of the materials.

Comparative evaluation of short-term versus long-term post-operative antibiotic prophylaxis after mandibular fractures

Background: No consensus is present among the clinicians regarding the use of post-operative antibiotics after the open reduction and internal fixation. This study evaluates the efficacy of short-term (48 hrs) versus long-term (5 days) post-operative antibiotics in preventing infection rates after the open reduction and internal fixation in mandible fractures. Methods: A total of 80 patients of dentate mandibular fractures were divided randomly in 2 groups; Group 1 received post-operative intravenous antibiotics (amoxicillin+clavulanate 1.2 g+ metronidazole 0.5 g/100 cc) TDS for 48 hrs post-operatively Group 2 received same course for 5 post-operative days and patient were monitored for the signs of infection according to the centers for disease control and prevention criteria, rise in white blood cells counts and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Side effects were recorded in both groups. Results: Out of 39 patients in Group 1 two patients showed rise in CRP levels and single patient developed abscess, whereas in Group 2 wound dehiscence was noted in 2 patients and both had prolonged rise in CRP levels at the 5th day. Conclusions: No significant difference in post-operative infection rates was seen between two groups which suggests short-term post-operative antibiotic treatment is equally efficacious as long-term treatment.

Calculation of Propagation Characteristics of Surface Plasmons in Au/Ag Nanowires

Contrary to the recently reported results [5], Johnson and Christy data for metals [7] is shown to predict the propagation characteristics of surface Plasmons supported by Au/Ag nanowires accurately, matching well with the experiments.

CYTOPROTECTIVE EFFE CT OF ANTIOXIDANT ON ENDOSULFAN INDUCED ARCHITECTURE OF SPERMATOZOA IN MICE : A TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (TEM) VIEW

In the present investigation spermatozoa architec ture after endosulfan treatment in mice have been evaluated. Similarly fruit extract of Amla ( Emblica officinalis ) as an antioxidant have been tested for probable restoration in sperm architecture exposed to endosulfan treatment . Endosulfan is a pesticide of organochlorine group. Government of Kerala (India) banned this pesticide due to its indiscriminate use in Ka sargod district and hazardous effect on health among cashew nut workers . In the present investigation, the dose of 3 mg/Kg b.w of Endosulfan was continuously administered to male mice for 35 days after that aqueous extract of Emblica officinalis (Amla) frui t has been administered for 35 days at the dose of 150 mg/kg b.w. to evaluate ameliorating effect on sperm . The mice were sacrificed on 35 th day of Amla treatment followed by 35 days of endosulfan treatment to observe the architecture of spermatozoa through Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Electron micrograph of spermatozoa of 3 mg/kg Endosulfan treated for 35 days showed degeneration in ap ical acrosome region with degenerative changes in plasma membrane and nuclear membrane of head region of spermatozoa. The degeneration were also observed in 9+2 arrangement of microtubule and mit ochondrial sheath of mid piece of spermatozoa while principa l piece showed without plasma membrane which denotes complete degeneration of plasma membrane. Outer dense fibers were fused with microtubules. The divergent arms were degenerated and not visible clearly. This way marked degen erative changes were observed in the architecture of spermatozoa (Head Piece, Mid Piece and Principal Piece) after exposure of endosulfan. Emblica officinalis at the dose of 150 mg/kg b.w. showing restoration of acrosomal material, better effect on condensation of chromatin material, p lasma membrane and nuclear membrane is almost reformed, middle piece and principal piece showing restoration of intact plasma membrane. Thus from the above study it can be concluded that amla as an antioxidant has more potency to check male reproductive de formities.