Royal Poinciana Biodiesel Blends with 1-Butanol as a Potential Alternative Fuel for Unmodified Research Engines.

This research work investigates the experimental work of a single-cylinder diesel engine operated with royal poinciana biodiesel blends with various proportions of 10, 20, and 30% volume with 1-butanol as an effective ignition-improving additive. The test blends were indicated as D90RP7B3 (90% diesel + 7% royal poinciana biodiesel + 3% butanol), D80RP14B6 (80% diesel + 14% royal poinciana biodiesel + 6% butanol), D70RP21B9 (70% diesel + 21% royal poinciana biodiesel + 9% butanol), and pure royal poinciana biodiesel (RP100) and diesel. The significant findings or results obtained during the experimentation are that BTE is suitable for blend D90RP7B3, and the least BSFC is found for blend D90RP7B3 in the 0.24 kg/kWh range. The inline cylinder pressures are found to be suitable for the blend D90RP7B3 in the range of 7 MPa; HRR is ideal for both the blends D90RP7B3 and D80RP14B6 in the range of 90 and 88 kJ; D90RP7B3 possesses adequate ignition delay at full load conditions 16° in crank angle advance; maximum A/F ratios are well suitable for the blend D90RP7B3 in the ratio 11:1 at higher loads. Volumetric efficiency is achieved well for all the blends and diesel; the emissions released from the royal poinciana blends, such as CO, CO2, HC, and NOX, were reduced by 14.12, 8.33, 11.1, and 18.8% compared to standard diesel. Hence, royal poinciana blends with 1-butanol can be considered the best fuels in the automobile sector.

Omalizumab rescue therapy in refractory status asthmaticus.

INTRODUCTION: Refractory status asthmaticus (RSA) is a severe, life-threatening form of asthma exacerbation that persists despite aggressive treatment with systemic corticosteroids, bronchodilators, and other supportive measures. Omalizumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets IgE, has been approved for treating severe allergic asthma and is effective in reducing the frequency of exacerbations and improving asthma control. Limited evidence exists regarding the use of Omalizumab in RSA, but some studies have suggested that it may have a role in its management. CASE: A 39-year-old male with a decade-long history of asthma presented to the emergency department intubated and unresponsive to pharmacological therapy. The patient's IgE levels were elevated, and Omalizumab was administered after a comprehensive evaluation. The patient made a dramatic recovery and was successfully weaned off the ventilator within 24 h of receiving Omalizumab. He made an uneventful recovery and was discharged home on Omalizumab once every two weeks with regular follow-ups. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Per our literature search, only 3 cases have been reported where Omalizumab was administered to patients with RSA to wean them off ventilatory support successfully. This case study adds to the existing data on the potential benefits of Omalizumab in managing RSA. It suggests it may be a valuable treatment option for patients who do not respond to standard therapy. However, further research is needed to determine the efficacy and safety of Omalizumab in this population.

"Peanut saves the day": an innovative solution to massive, cryptogenic haemoptysis-a case study.

Massive (or life-threatening) haemoptysis is a time-sensitive emergency encountered by a physician that requires an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort to arrest the bleeding in a prompt and timely manner. Placement of an endobronchial Watanabe spigot (EWS) to halt haemoptysis is a relatively recent technique finding its wide application in airway pathology, with the current extension of its use to bronchial bleeding. However, the lack of immediate access to EWS gives rise to the need to innovate with day-to-day materials used in routine surgical practice and available in resource-limited settings, which may serve the purpose of a spigot. In this report, we bring to light a case of life-threatening, cryptogenic haemoptysis that was managed by a novel technique of using peanut gauze as a spigot resulting in a successful endobronchial tamponade.

Resection of Unresectable Stage IVB Thyroid Cancer Encasing the Carotid Artery.

Stage IVB thyroid cancer includes carotid encasement or infiltration of the prevertebral fascia and mediastinal vessels. Stage IVB disease is considered unresectable due to grave consequences of attempting resection. We report a rare case of carotid artery engulfment being resected uneventfully without carotid resection.

Marchiafava - bignami disease: a case report.

Marchiafava-Bignami disease (MBD) is a rare neurological disorder of chronic alcoholism characterized by demyelination and necrosis of corpus callosum. In this case report we present the MR imaging findings of MBD and review of the other imaging features of the disease.

Post-operative cognitive functions after general anesthesia with sevoflurane and desflurane in South Asian elderly.

BACKGROUND: The duration of the recovery of cognition after anesthesia and surgery is multifactorial and is dependent on the type of anesthesia used, the type of surgery, and the patient. The present study compared the speed of recovery in elderly patients undergoing general anesthesia with sevoflurane or desflurane and the incidence and duration of cognitive impairment in them. METHODS: The prospective study was conducted at a tertiary care centre in Bangalore from November 2008 to March 2010. Patients aged above 65 years with American Society of Anaesthesiology (ASA) physical status I, II, III undergoing surgeries under general anesthesia lasting from 45 min up to 3 hours were included in the study. The times from discontinuing nitrous oxide to eye opening, tracheal extubation, obeying commands, and the time to orientation to name and place were assessed at 30-60 s intervals. At 1, 3, 6 h after the end of anesthesia, the patient's cognitive functions were assessed by asking them to repeat the Mini Mental Score Examination. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Student t-test, Chi-square test. RESULTS: The time to eye opening, time until extubation, time to follow commands and orientation to time, place were significantly better with desflurane compared to sevoflurane (p < .001). Hundred percent of patients in the desflurane group and 97% in the sevoflurane group demonstrated completely normal cognitive function at 6 h postoperatively (p = 0.31). CONCLUSION: Desflurane was associated with a faster early recovery than sevoflurane in elderly patients. However, postoperative recovery of cognitive function was similar with both volatile anaesthetics.

A diagnostic dilemma: a young boy with loss of weight, pulmonary infiltrates and cervical lymphadenitis.

Cervical lymphadenitis is a common finding in young adults in a country like India, where tuberculosis is endemic. We are presenting the case of a young boy who presented with low grade fever, dry cough, weight loss, and a cervical swelling. His chest X-ray showed diffuse reticulonodular infiltrates. Contrast enhanced CT of chest showed bilateral multiple ring shadows. Cervical lymph node fine needle cytology suggested a metastatic thyroid carcinoma. He was evaluated extensively and a final diagnosis of a familial medullary thyroid carcinoma was made. Medullary thyroid carcinoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cervical lymphadenitis with lung infiltrates in young adults. It may be sporadic or a part of an inherited autosomal dominant disorder like multiple endocrine neoplasia. Genetic testing should be done for all patients with a diagnosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma.

Biogeochemical study of termite mounds: a case study from Tummalapalle area of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Termite mounds are abundant components of Tummalapalle area of uranium mineralization of Cuddapah District of Andhra Pradesh, India. The systematic research has been carried out on the application of termite mound sampling to mineral exploration in this region. The distribution of chemical elements Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Cr, Li, Rb, Sr, Ba, and U were studied both in termite soils and adjacent surface soils. Uranium accumulations were noticed in seven termite mounds ranging from 10 to 36 ppm. A biogeochemical parameter called "Biological Absorption Coefficient" of the termite mounds indicated the termite affected soils contained huge amounts of chemical elements than the adjacent soils.

Isolated rectal tuberculosis in an AIDS patient masquerading as malignancy.

Tuberculosis may involve any region of the gastrointestinal tract but involvement of the rectum is rare. The literature concerning rectal tuberculosis in AIDS patients is limited. We report the case of rectal tuberculosis mimicking malignancy, both clinically and endoscopically, in an AIDS patient. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis. Treatment was initiated with antituberculous drugs and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The patient developed drug-induced hepatitis, his general condition deteriorated and he finally succumbed to his illness.

HMX based enhanced energy LOVA gun propellant.

Efforts to develop gun propellants with low vulnerability have recently been focused on enhancing the energy with a further improvement in its sensitivity characteristics. These propellants not only prevent catastrophic disasters due to unplanned initiation of currently used gun propellants (based on nitrate esters) but also realize enhanced energy levels to increase the muzzle velocity of the projectiles. Now, in order to replace nitroglycerine, which is highly sensitive to friction and impact, nitramines meet the requirements as they offer superior energy due to positive heat of formation, typical stoichiometry with higher decomposition temperatures and also owing to negative oxygen balance are less sensitive than stoichiometrically balanced NG. RDX has been widely reported for use in LOVA propellant. In this paper we have made an effort to present the work on scantily reported nitramine HMX based LOVA gun propellant while incorporating energetic plasticizer glycidyl azide polymer to enhance the energy level. HMX is known to be thermally stable at higher temperature than RDX and also proved to be less vulnerable to small scale shaped charge jet attack as its decomposition temperature is 270 degrees C. HMX also offers improved impulse due to its superior heat of formation (+17 kcal/mol) as compared to RDX (+14 kcal/mol). It has also been reported that a break point will not appear until 35,000 psi for propellant comprising of 5 microm HMX. Since no work has been reported in open literature regarding replacement of RDX by HMX, the present studies were carried out.

Sub-site specific time trends of carcinoma stomach in North Kerala--a retrospective analysis.

The time trends in the incidence of carcinoma stomach in the various sub-sites in stomach have been documented in the western population. The incidence of carcinoma of gastric cardia is found to be increasing, while that of the antrum is seen to be decreasing. Data from tropics is lacking on this aspect. This retrospective study was performed to look into the site-specific time trends of carcinoma stomach. Endoscopy registers maintained in the Department of Gastroenterology, Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala in South India were screened over the period of 20 years from 1982 to 2001. Histopathologically confirmed cases of adenocarcinoma were included in the study. The cases were categorized according to different areas of stomach--cardia, fundus, body and antrum as per International classification of diseases 0-9 (zero-nine) codes. Time trend for each sub site was calculated using one-way ANOVA and Chi-square for trend. Of the 26,886 upper GI endoscopies done over 20 years, 1771 were found to be gastric adenocarcinomas. Gastric antrum was the most common site of cancer over the years (47.8%). There was a significant rising trend for gastric cancer of the cardia without a similar trend for the cancer of the body and antrum during the study period. The sub site-specific time trends of carcinoma stomach are not similar to the pattern seen in western countries. There is a rising trend for the cancer of the cardia with a stable trend for distal cancers over 20 years.