A novel biocompatible conducting polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-hydroxyapatite (HAP) composite scaffolds for probable biological application.

We have prepared biocompatible composites of 80wt% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-(20wt%) polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) blend with different concentrations of bioactive nanohydroxyapatite, Ca10(PO4)6(HO)2 (HAP). The composite films demonstrated maximum effective conductivity (σ∼1.64×10(-4)S/m) and effective dielectric constant (ε∼290) at percolation threshold concentration (∼10wt% HAP) at room temperature. These values of σ and ε are much higher than those of PVA, PVP or HAP. Our preliminary observation indicated excellent biocompatibility of the electrospun fibrous meshes of two of these composites with different HAP contents (8.5 and 5wt% within percolation threshold concentration) using NIH 3T3 fibroblast cell line. Cells viability on the well characterized composite fibrous scaffolds was determined by MTT [3-(4,5-di-methylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay analysis. Enhancement of σ, due to HAP addition, was found to show increased biocompatibility of the fibrous scaffold. Enhanced σ value of the PVA/PVP-HAP composite provided supporting cues for the increased cell viability and biocompatibility of the composite fibrous meshes. Excellent biocompatibility these electrospun composite scaffolds made them to plausible potential candidates for tissue engineering or other biomedical applications.

Preoperative use of granisetron plus dexamethasone and granisetron alone in prevention of post operative nausea and vomiting in tonsillectomy.

This prospective study was done for to see the efficacy of preoperative use of granisetron plus dexamethasone (Group A) & granisetron (Group B) alone for the postoperative prevention of nausea & vomiting after tonsillectomy operation. One hundred patients undergoing tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy operation under general anaesthesia who were admitted in the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital during the period from July 2008 to June 2009 with American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) grade I & II with age 3-40 years, body weight 10-60 kgs, were studied. Observation of this study was analyzed in the light of comparison between the two groups. All results were expressed as mean±SEM. Age in Group A 15.98±1.028 & Group B 17.18±0.961 years; Weight in Group A 38.40±1.492 & Group B 39.76±1.561 kgs and operational duration in Group A 52.60±0.786 & Group B 52.70±0.823 minutes. The studied groups were statistically matched for age, weight, duration of surgery. We observed that the effects of combination of granisetron & dexamthasone are more than granisetron alone in prevention of nausea & vomiting after tonsillectomy operation. The frequency of vomiting was 4% in combination & 16% in single therapy which is statically significant (p<0.05).

Statistical modeling of psychosis data.

Psychosis is a special type of mental disorder that affects around 2-3% of global population and has a strong genetic basis. Under psychosis, there is a group of diseases, which apparently may look alike and thus, it is difficult to isolate them from each other. Moreover, the credibility of real data related to psychosis is not only questionable due to its secondary nature but also its availability is grossly restricted because of the ethical constraints and prevailing social taboo. The present paper is a novel attempt to capture psychosis data by considering 24 input symptom constructs and 7 tentative responses (outputs) as per Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-F2 (BPRS-F2). The captured input-output data as per Plackett-Burman design (PBD) of experiments (after consulting 40 psychiatrists) are statistically modeled, to determine their mutual relationships (i.e., outputs as the functions of inputs). Both Pareto-charts as well as normal probability plots are prepared to investigate the effect of each factor on different responses. Significant symptom construct(s) has/have been identified for each response. For example, emotional withdrawal has significant contribution towards schizophrenia, and so on. The psychosis data, thus collected, will be useful for further processing to extract more information of the said disease.