Variation in Pore Structure and Associated Fractal Dimensions of Barakar and Barren Measures Carbon-Rich Gas Shales of Jharia Basin, India.

The carbon-rich Barakar and Barren Measures shale beds of the Jharia basin were evaluated for variation in pore size, pore structure, and fractal dimensions. The shale core samples were obtained from exploratory boreholes drilled at the Jharia basin. The shale samples were analyzed for organo-inorganic composition by FTIR, pore size, and pore structure using BET low-pressure N adsorption and pore geometry through FE-SEM photographs.

Inherited mutations in cancer susceptibility genes are common among survivors of breast cancer who develop therapy-related leukemia.

Background: Risk factors for the development of therapy-related leukemia (TRL), an often lethal late complication of cytotoxic therapy, remain poorly understood and may differ for survivors of different malignancies. Survivors of breast cancer (BC) now account for the majority of TRL cases, making the study of TRL risk factors in this population a priority.

Methods: Subjects with TRL after cytotoxic therapy for a primary BC were identified from the TRL registry at The University of Chicago.

A study on refractive errors among school children in Kolkata.

Childhood visual impairment due to refractive errors is a significant problem in school children and has a considerable impact on public health. To assess the magnitude of the problem the present study was undertaken among the school children aged 5 to 10 years in Kolkata. Detailed ophthalmological examination was carried out in the schools as well as in the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kolkata.

Is tube feeding associated with altered arterial oxygen saturation in stroke patients?

Background: Reduced arterial oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) during swallowing, oral feeding and feeding tube placement has been demonstrated in stroke patients. It is not known if tube feeding causes similar episodes of arterial desaturation and whether there is a case for routine pulse oximetry during tube feeding.

Objective: To determine if tube feeding in stroke patients is associated with hypoxia.

Successful control of Clostridium difficile infection in an elderly care unit through use of a restrictive antibiotic policy.

Toxin-producing Clostridium difficile is the commonest bacterial cause of nosocomial diarrhoea and is a well recognized cause of hospital outbreaks in elderly care units. High C. difficile disease rates have been associated with the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, especially cephalosporins.

Detection of haemoglobin variants for the diagnosis of beta thalassaemia & other haemoglobinopathies using anion exchange high performance liquid chromatography.

We describe the precise identification, separation and quantitation of several haemoglobin (Hb) variants such as Hbs A2, A, F, S, E, J, H, D-Punjab and Q-India in untransfused patients with beta thalassaemia and other haemoglobinopathies prevalent in the Indian population using whole blood (5 microliters), red cell lysates (2 microliters) or dried blood specimens on filter paper, using a conventional anion exchange high performance liquid chromatography (AX-HPLC) system. Samples were simultaneously studied for the presence of haemoglobin variants by alkaline electrophoresis. The problems in analysing rare variants and separating the closely migrating variants, encountered in the conventional methods could be resolved using the HPLC technique.

Gloucester hospital-at-home: a randomized controlled trial.

Hospital-at-Home schemes have been claimed to hasten the discharge of elderly orthopaedic patients, and are becoming increasingly popular with health service managers. In an attempt to measure the benefits of such a scheme when applied to elderly medical patients, we prospectively randomized 60 consecutive referrals of patients approaching discharge either to the Hospital-at-Home (HAH) rehabilitation team, or to conventional discharge (CD) preparation and domiciliary support. Patients allocated to HAH were discharged on average 5 days earlier than CD, while 64% of each group remained at home during 6 months follow-up.