Pediatric thermal burn injury:A retrospective analysis from pediatric care institutes,Eastern India

Objective:Pediatric burns pose difficult healthcare issues in underdeveloped nations.Due to the scarcity of pediatric burn care facilities and qualified burn‑care staff,patients are frequently referred from a rural hospital.This study explores the burn‑treatment approach that could be used in rural hospitals in the absence of a dedicated pediatric burn care facility.Materials and Methods:A retrospective analysis of clinical data of 199 children who received treatment for burn‑injury in an isolated general surgical ward.Wound debridement under anesthesia at the earliest was the cornerstone of the treatment plan for this cohort.Until the wounds healed,the treatment was repeated every alternate day.The patient’s demographic data,number of surgical dressings,length of hospital stay,and outcome were analyzed.Results:The mean age of the patients was 51.68±23.79 months.The male‑female ratio was 1.45:1.The survival rate was 99.00%.The disability rate was 4.52%.Univariate logistic regression identified the age group,total body surface area affected,depth of the wound,and time of intervention as statistically significant variables(P<0.05)predicting the disfigurement.Multivariate logistic regression identified the time intervals between surgical intervention and injury as an important predictor of morbidity.In addition,delayed presentation and delayed intervention led to a longer hospital stay,and more interventions than the early intervention cohort.Conclusions:Early debridement accelerates recovery and lessens the need for future skin grafts or contracture procedures.This approach can be used in rural hospitals as well because pediatric burns can be manageable in an isolated general ward.

Observation of Resistive Switching Memory by Reducing Device Size in a New Cr/CrO_x/TiO_x/TiN Structure

The resistive switching memory characteristics of 100 randomly measured devices were observed by reducing device size in a Cr/Cr Ox/Ti Ox/Ti N structure for the first time.Transmission electron microscope image confirmed a viahole size of 0.4 lm.A 3-nm-thick amorphous Ti Oxwith 4-nm-thick polycrystalline Cr Oxlayer was observed.A small 0.4-lm device shows reversible resistive switching at a current compliance of 300 l A as compared to other larger size devices(1–8 lm)owing to reduction of leakage current through the Ti Oxlayer.Good device-to-device uniformity with a yield of[85%has been clarified by weibull distribution owing to higher slope/shape factor.The switching mechanism is based on oxygen vacancy migration from the Cr Oxlayer and filament formation/rupture in the Ti Oxlayer.Long read pulse endurance of[105cycles,good data retention of 6 h,and a program/erase speed of 1 ls pulse width have been obtained.

Shock Induced Symmetric Compression in a Spherical Target

Shock induced symmetric compression has been studied in a spherical target. The shock induced interfacial radius will shrink and would reach a minimum point during implosion situation. However, after implosion the plasma tries to expand in blow off/explosion situation and as a result the interfacial radius will increase. Effects of plasma parameters like density and temperature have been studied numerically. It is seen that the density increases many times due to the mass conservation in imploding situation of a compressible shell like ICF. However, temperature will change rapidly due to change of inner density and so would be the pressure of compressible fluid following adiabatic law. Our analytical results agree qualitatively with those of simulation results in spherical geometry and also experimental observations conducted in cylindrical container.

Ultra-highly diluted plant extracts of Hydrastis canadensis and Marsdenia condurango induce epigenetic modifications and alter gene expression profiles in HeLa cells in vitro

OBJECTIVE： Methylation-specific epigenetic process and gene expression profiles of HeLa cells treated with ultra-high dilutions （HDs） of two plant extracts, Hydrastis canadensis （HC-30） and Marsdenia condurango （Condu-30）, diluted 106o times, were analyzed against placebo 30C （PI-30） for alterations in gene profiles linked to epigenetic modifications. METHODS： Separate groups of cells were subjected to treatment of Condu-30, HC-30, and PI- 30 prepared by serial dilutions and succussions. Global microarray data recorded on Affymetrix platform, using 25-mer probes were provided by iLifeDiscoveries, India. Slides were scanned with 3000 7G microarray scanner and raw data sets were extracted from Cel （raw intensity） files. Analyses of global microarray data profile, differential gene expression, fold change and clusters were made using GeneSpring GX12.5 software and standard normalization procedure. Before microarray study, concentration of RNA （ng/IJL）, RIN value and rRNA ratio for all the samples were analysed by Agilant Bioanalyzer 2100. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） and quantitative RT- PCR were done for analyzing SMAD-4 expression. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting study was further made to elucidate fate of cells at divisional stages. Methylation-specific restriction enzyme assay was conducted for ascertaining methylation status of DNA at specific sites. RESULTS： HDs of HC-30 and Condu-30 differentially altered methylation in specific regions of DNA and expression profiles of certain genes linked to carcinogenesis, as compared to PI-30. Two separate cut sites were found in genomic DNA of untreated and placebo-treated HeLa cells when digested with McrBC, compared to a single cut observed in Condu-30-treated genomic DNA. SMAD-4 gene expression validated the expression pattern observed in microarray profile. Methylation-specific restriction enzyme assay elucidated differential epigenetic modifications in drug-treated and control cells. CONCLUSION： HDs triggered epigenetic modifications and alterations in microarray gene expression profiles of many genes associated with carcinogenesis in HeLa cells in vitro.