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Biomedical subjects

M Agarwal

Publications and source records attributed to M Agarwal.

118 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Primary aortoduodenal fistulas in minimally aneurysmal aortas: imaging diagnosis.

We report on the utility of computed tomography (CT) in making the diagnosis of primary aortoduodenal fistulas in two cases presenting with massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage. In both cases, the clinical presentation was insidious, no pulsatile abdominal mass was palpated, and endoscopy findings were inconclusive. CT showed minimally aneurysmal aortas communicating with larger areas of contained rupture and pseudoaneurysm stretching adjacent small bowel.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Povidone iodine plus neosporin in superficial burns--a continuing study.

A total of 1053 patients with superficial burn injury were treated with povidone iodine plus neosporin (PVP + N) and the results after treatment were compared with those obtained after treating 1089 patients with silver sulphadiazine (SSD). Qualitative analysis showed Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas spp. to be the most common infecting organisms. Quantitatively, fewer patients showed infection on the 7th and 18th day post-treatment in the PVP + N group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). Similarly, healing times were also better with PVP + N, with a maximum number of patients having healed within 15 days (P < 0.001). However, the mortality rates were not much different between the two groups.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Characterization of the degradation of polylactic acid polymer in a solid substrate environment.

Polylactic acid (PLA) polymer film was degraded in abiotic and biotic environments to understand the role of microbes in the degradation process of lactic acid based polymers. The degradation studies were conducted in a well-characterized biotic system, an abiotic system, a sterile aqueous system, and a desiccated environment maintained at 40, 50, and 60 degrees C. The combination of experiments in different environments isolated the distinct effect of microbes, water, and temperature on the morphological changes in the polymer during degradation. Due to lack of availability of radiolabeled PLA, various analytical techniques were applied to observe changes in the rate and/or mechanism of degradation. CO2 evolved, weight loss, and molecular weights were measured to evaluate the extent of degradation. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry techniques monitored the morphological changes in the polymer. FTIR was used as a semiquantitative tool to gather information about the chemistry of the degradative process. Neither of the above analytical techniques indicated any difference in the rate or mechanism of degradation attributable to the presence of microorganisms. The extent of degradation increased at higher process temperatures. FTIR data were evaluated for significant statistical difference by t-test hypothesis. The results confirmed hydrolysis of ester linkage as the primary mechanism of degradation of PLA. On the basis of these data, a probable path of PLA degradation has been suggested.

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mucous gel transport in a simulated cough machine: effects of longitudinal grooves representing spacings between arrays of cilia.

Under some conditions, such as inhalation injury, an array of longitudinal channels without cilia may be formed on the epithelial surface, affecting mucus transport in the lung during coughing. Moreover, in certain cases of the diseased state of the lung, immotile cilia remain embedded in the serous fluid and may form channels in the direction of air motion during coughing, providing a resistance-free pathway for serous layer fluid and assist in mucus clearance. To understand this phenomenon, we have conducted experiments with mucous gel simulants (MGS) in a simulated cough machine (SCM) using soap solution as a serous layer simulant (SLS). The channel structure of the airway surface was modeled by introducing bottom plates with longitudinal grooves about 10 cm long having different depths, widths and number of grooves. It was shown that mucous gel transport increases as the cross-sectional area occupied by channel grooves increases. The effects of sinusoidal constriction and mucous gel filance were also investigated in this model system. It was found that mucous gel transport increases in the constricted case (minimum gap, 3 mm, and maximum gap, 9 mm) in comparison with that in the parallel case (constriction gap of 9 mm). The effect of increasing the mucous gel filance was to decrease the transport,, as reported in previous studies.

Cilia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of atherosclerosis risk factors in adolescent school children.

The emerging epidemic of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases in developing countries may have its roots in childhood. We studied atherosclerosis risk factors--tobacco use, obesity, hypertension, total cholesterol level and dietary intake of atherogenic nutrients in adolescent school children aged 13-17 years in Western India. Two hundred thirty-seven children (89 boys, 148 girls) were examined and prevalence of risk factors determined. Family history of coronary heart disease was found in 16 (6.8%), smoking or tobacco use in one (0.4%) and obesity (BMI > 90th percentile) in 24 (10.1%), borderline hypertension (> or = 136/86) in 65 (27.4%) and definite hypertension (> or = 142/92) in 17 (7.2%). Borderline hypercholesterolaemia (170-199 mg/dL) was in 78 (32.9%) and definite hypercholesterolaemia (> or = 200 mg/dL) in 16 (6.8%). Mean calorie intake was 1450 +/- 348 per day. Fats provided 38.4 +/- 8 percent of the calories, saturated fats contributed to 20.3 +/- 6.4 percent of calories, monounsaturated fats to 12.9 +/- 2.4 percent and polyunsaturated fats to 5.0 +/- 3.7 percent. Dietary cholesterol intake was 164 +/- 95 mg/day, sodium chloride intake 12.8 +/- 5.7 gm/day and fibre intake 6.5 +/- 4.6 gm/day. This study shows a high prevalence of metabolic and dietetic coronary risk factors among adolescents of the middle- and upper-middle class in India.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A randomized double-blind sham-controlled study of intrathecal human anti-tetanus immunoglobulin in the management of tetanus.

BACKGROUND: Tetanus is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in developing countries. Various modalities of treatment to prevent progression of the disease and alter its outcome have been tried. This study was designed to evaluate the role of intrathecal human anti-tetanus immunoglobulin (TIG) in the management of tetanus. METHODS: Thirty-six adult patients presenting to an university-affiliated teaching hospital were stratified based on the severity of disease into mild and severe disease, and subsequently randomly allocated to receive either 250 i.u. of TIG intrathecally or a sham procedure mimicking the lumbar puncture. RESULTS: In mild tetanus, TIG administration significantly retarded the rate of progression (p = 0.05), reduced the duration of hospital (p = 0.01) and intensive care unit stay (p = 0.05), need for tracheostomies (p = 0.03) and the dose of sedatives required for control of spasms (p = 0.01). In mild tetanus, the mortality rates were 20% and 30% in the treated and control groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: We suggest that TIG is useful in reducing the morbidity, progression of disease and mortality in patients presenting with mild tetanus.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Coexisting chondroblastoma and osteochondroma: a case report.

The coexistence of two different types of benign cartilaginous tumours of bone in the same patient has not been reported in literature. We report a case in which a sixteen-year-old male had a benign chondroblastoma of the proximal left humerus and an osteochondroma of the distal left femur. Both originated at the same time and had a progressive increase in size with growth.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Beneficial effect of hydrotropes on partitioning behaviour of proteins in aqueous two phase systems.

Proteins have been partitioned in poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-salt systems containing hydrotropes. Hydrotropes are surface active compounds with strong ionic nature with a smaller hydrophobic part as compared to surfactants. The effect of pH, hydrotrope concentration, polymer molecular weight and protein molecular weight on partitioning of proteins including enzymes and their separation has been investigated. The effects of hydrotropes may be explained on the basis of interaction of PEG and the hydrotropes. This is substantiated by measuring the concentration of hydrotropes in both the phases. The practical utilization of the described effect is to enhance the separation of a mixture of proteins by many folds. Preliminary experiments have shown that hydrotropes at low concentrations do not affect enzyme activity and do not have any bactericidal activity.

Cytochrome c Group↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A planar model for mucociliary transport: effect of mucus viscoelasticity.

A planar two-layer fluid model is proposed to study the transport of mucus in the respiratory tracts due to cilia beating and air motion by considering mucus as a viscoelastic fluid. The effect of air motion due to forced expiration and other processes is considered by prescribing shear stress at the mucus-air interface. It is shown that the transport of mucus increases as the pressure drop, shear stress due to air motion and the velocity generated by cilia tips and the serous sublayer increase. Mucus transport also increases as the shear modulus of elasticity decreases. This property is effective only in the presence of pressure drop or air motion. It is noted that the effect of gravity is similar to pressure drop. It is observed that mucus transport decreases as the viscosity of serous layer fluid increases, but any increase at high values of mucus viscosity does not seem to affect the mucus transport. It is also found that for a given total depth of serous and mucus layers, there exists a serous fluid layer thickness for which the mucus transport is maximum. The functional dependence of mucus transport predicted by the model is discussed in relation to experimental observations.

Elasticity↗