An overview of laparoscopic versus open incisional hernia repair

Background: An incisional hernia is perceived as a morbidity following an abdominal wall operation. Risk factors that increase the chances of developing these hernias are wound infection, male sex, obesity, abdominal distension, underlying disease process and occasionally poor surgical closure. The aim of this study was to compare laparoscopic vs open incisional hernia repair with regard to postoperative pain and nausea, operative time, postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. Methods: We conducted retrospective review of consecutive patients with hernia in department of surgery, Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College and Hospital, Redhills, Chennai, Tamil Nadu between September 2022 to February 2023 (6 months). We analyzed 140 patients that met the inclusion criteria and their clinical data. The patients were divided into two groups: open incision hernia repair (OI=70) group and laparoscopic hernia repair (LR=70) group. Results: In our study, the mean operative time of 99.64±13.1 min for the laparoscopic repair group was longer than the mean operative time of 74.64±9.14 min for open repair (p =0.264). Hospital stay was not significantly in the laparoscopic group with a mean of 2.4±0.6 days compared with 2.8±1.4 of the open repair group (p=0.0515). Conclusions: Smaller incisional hernias with a transverse diameter <10 cm can be repaired successfully by a laparoscopic approach if a suitably skilled surgeon is available, although an ugly scar may remain on the anterior abdominal wall. Major defects >10 cm was best repaired by an open operation

Clinical profile and outcome of diabetic foot ulcers

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic endocrine disorder, once prevalent in developed countries has become the leading ‘global epidemic’. WHO estimated that in the year 2000. Roughly 3% of the total world population had Diabetes. In India around 61million of general population affected in 2011 which may rise to 101 million by 2030. The aim of the study was to study the clinical profile and outcome of diabetic foot ulcers. The clinical profile of 120 patients with diabetic foot ulcer was studied.   Methods: Patients with diabetic foot ulcer of both genders with age above 30 years willing to participate were included in the study. All patients were subjected to routine diabetic work up with Doppler study and X-ray foot to rule out bone involvement. Results: The majority of patients with diabetic foot ulcers were of age group 51 to 60 years, male predominant, 84 patients out of 120 isolated included for study, 24 (28.6%) isolates had Klebsiella, 46(54.8%) isolates Pseudomonas, 14 (16.7%) isolates has E.coli. Conclusions: Our study gives important information that diabetic foot ulcer is more common among middle-aged people with male predominance which gives the importance of screening diabetic patients for neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease

MICROWAVE-ASSISTED SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ZNO NANOPARTICLES

A spinel ZnO nanocatalyst was successfully synthesized via a direct microwave heating method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of a single-phase cubic spinel gahnite structure (ZnAl₂O₄) with a calculated lattice parameter of 8.335 Å, indicating high phase purity. The average crystallite size, estimated using the Debye-Scherrer equation, was approximately 26.53 nm. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy revealed characteristic metal–oxygen stretching vibrations, corroborating the spinel structure. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) images displayed well-defined, nano-sized grains with uniform morphology, suggesting effective control over particle formation. These findings demonstrate that microwave-assisted synthesis is a viable and efficient approach for producing high-purity spinel ZnO nanocatalysts with desirable structural and morphological properties

Integrating place-specific livelihood and equity outcomes into global assessments of bioenergy deployment

__Abstract__ Integrated assessment models suggest that the large-scale deployment of bioenergy could contribute to ambitious climate change mitigation efforts. However, such a shift would intensify the global competition for land, with possible consequences for 1.5 billion smallholder livelihoods that these models do not consider. Maintaining and enhancing robust livelihoods upon bioenergy deployment is an equally important sustainability goal that warrants greater attention. The social implications of biofuel production are complex, varied and place-specific, difficult to model, operationalize and quantify. However, a rapidly developing body of social science literature is advancing the understanding of these interactions. In this letter we link human geography research on the interaction between biofuel crops and livelihoods in developing countries to integrated assessments on biofuels. We review case-study research focused on first-generation biofuel crops to demonstrate that food, income, land and other assets such as health are key livelihood dimensions that can be impacted by such crops and we highlight how place-specific and global dynamics influence both aggregate and distributional outcomes across these livelihood dimensions. We argue that place-specific production models and land tenure regimes mediate livelihood outcomes, which are also in turn affected by global and regional markets and their resulting equilibrium dynamics. The place-specific perspective suggests that distributional consequences are a crucial complement to aggregate outcomes; this has not been given enough weight in comprehensive assessments to date. By narrowing the gap between place-specific case studies and global models, our discussion offers a route towards integrating livelihood and equity considerations into scenarios of future bioenergy deployment, thus contributing to a key challenge in sustainability sciences

Correlation between Serum Phosphate, Serum Magnesium levels and Severity of Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most prevalent microvascular complications of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). While magnesium and phosphate are essential for neuromuscular function, their association with DPN remains underexplored. Objective: To assess the correlation between serum magnesium and phosphate levels with the severity of DPN in patients with T2DM. Methods: This prospective observational study included 80 T2DM patients presenting with neuropathic symptoms. Severity of DPN was assessed using the Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Score (TCNS) and confirmed by nerve conduction studies. Serum magnesium and phosphate levels were measured and analysed against neuropathy severity. Results: The mean age of participants was 51.77 ± 11.1 years. DPN prevalence was 75%, with significant associations found between neuropathy severity and reduced serum magnesium (p=0.001), phosphate levels (p=0.003), higher HbA1c (p<0.001), older age (p<0.001), male gender (p=0.003), and longer diabetes duration (p=0.001). Magnesium demonstrated a stronger predictive value for DPN severity than phosphate. Conclusion: Serum magnesium and phosphate levels inversely correlate with DPN severity in T2DM. Serum magnesium may serve as a better predictive marker. Routine screening of these electrolytes could aid in early detection and management of DPN

Long-term TNT and DNT contamination: 1-D modeling of natural attenuation in the vadose zone: case study, Portugal

The vadose zone of a trinitrotoluene (TNT) and dinitrotoluene (DNT) contaminated site was investigated to assess the mobility of those explosives under natural conditions. Located in the left margin of the River Tejo Basin, Portugal, the site is located on unconsolidated sediments. Wastewaters associated with the 50-year explosives production were disposed in excavated ponds, from where water would infiltrate and pollute the unsaturated and saturated parts of the local aquifers. Two boreholes were drilled to 9 m depth in such a former waste pond to investigate the contaminant's fate in the vadose zone. Sediment samples were taken every 1-2 m for analysis of the polynitroaromatics (p-NACs) and organic volatile compounds, pH, organic carbon content, cation exchange capacity and grain size analysis. The main contaminant was TNT representing >70 % of the total p-NACs concentration that peaked approximately 7 mg/kg in one borehole, even if the median in both boreholes was of similar to 1 mg/kg. DNT was 4-30 % of the total p-NACs and nitrotoluene (NT), up to 5 %. No other (volatile) organic compound was detected. The predominance of TNT as the main contaminant implies that any natural mass reduction has been inefficient to clean the site. Several 1-D model simulations of p-NACs cleaning of the vadose zone under natural conditions indicated that the most probable scenario of combined advection and partitioning will only remove TNT after 10's of years, whereas DNT and NT will hardly be removed. Such low concentrations and long times for the p-NACs removal, suggest that by now those compounds have been washed-out to a level below standard limits

Current progress on removal of recalcitrance coloured particles from anaerobically treated effluent using coagulation–flocculation

The palm oil industry is the most important agro industries in Malaysia and most of the mills adopt anaerobic digestion as their primary treatment for palm oil mill effluent (POME). Due to the public concern, decolourisation of anaerobically treated POME (AnPOME) is becoming a great concern. Presence of recalcitrant-coloured particles hinders biological processes and coagulation–flocculation may able to remove these coloured particles. Several types of inorganic and polymers-based coagulant/flocculant aids for coagulation–flocculation of AnPOME have been reviewed. Researchers are currently interested in using natural coagulant and flocculant aids. Modification of the properties of natural coagulant and flocculant aids enhanced coagulation–flocculation performance. Modelling and optimization of the coagulation–flocculation process have also been reviewed. Chemical sludge has the potential for plant growth that can be evaluated through pot trials and phytotoxicity test