Background: The search for the best marker or set of markers for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ‘at risk’ trauma patients is ongoing. Serial estimation of serum lactate values are thought to help predict morbidity and mortality in trauma victims. There is evidence to support the use of blood lactate levels as an end point of resuscitation. The presence of elevated lactic acid levels in the serum can direct the treating physician to safe and correct timing of any surgical intervention. Early identification and aggressive resuscitation measures aimed at correcting the impaired metabolic dysfunction improves survival and reduces complications in severely injured trauma patients. Methods: A prospective analytical study of 52 patients with polytrauma and multiple trauma admitted within 12 hours of injury to our institution between March 2007 to February 2008 was carried out. All the patients were resuscitated as per the advance trauma life support (ATLS) protocol in the emergency room. Serum lactate level was analyzed on the 1st, 5th and 14th day of injury. Serum lactate levels greater than 2 milimoles/L was considered abnormal and serum lactate level greater than 5 milimoles/L was considered significant. Results: There were 45 males and 7 females with an average age of 32.8 years (18-82). 18 patients out of 52 sustained polytrauma. Of these 18 patients, 8 patients sustained chest injury, 4 had head injury and 2 had abdominal injury. In the polytrauma group (n-18), 5 patients had an elevated lactate above 2 milimoles/Lon admission. 2 patients who had significant rise of lactate (>5 milimoles/L) on admission died on the 5th day. Out of 34 multiple trauma patients, 13 patients had an elevated lactate level at admission. One patient in this group with lactate level 7.2 died of ARDS on 3rd day of admission. Conclusion: Blood lactate appears to be a reliable marker reflecting not only the severity of the shock, but also for predicting survival. The longer the lactate is elevated, the more a patient is likely to develop multiple organ dysfunctions and die. Lactate levels followed over time is more reliable than isolated values. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/noaj.v2i1.8134 Nepal Orthopaedic Association Journal Vol.2(1) 2011: 7-13

We demonstrate a novel and simple protocol for the fast and autothermal synthesis of layered graphene-related nanomaterial via the self-sustaining combustion synthesis. Various initial composition of starting reactants (Mg/CaC 2 O 4 and Mg/MgC 2 O 4 ) were tested and the effects of the operational parameters were systemically investigated in terms of the efficiency of product formation and its characteristics. The obtained products were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The as-produced 3D graphene-related material has interesting properties and can be used in supercapacitors and as adsorbent for the removal of organic compounds. Graphene, a unique two-dimensional (2D) array of monolayer carbon atoms packed into a dense honeycomb crystal, has attracted much attention because of its diverse and extraordinary properties, i.e. electronic, magnetic, thermal, lubricant, chemical, optical, and mechanical.1 Graphene-related materials are also postulated to be used in energy conversion and storage.2 Thus, graphene and graphene-related materials have shown many applications in nanoelectronics, 3 sensors, 4 composite materials, 5 and in an environmental engineering.6 Carbon and graphitic materials have also been for decades a workhorse material in electrochemistry.7 Graphene was first produced by Novoselov et al. by mechanical exfoliation of graphite in 2004. 8 Since then many techniques have been proposed to obtain graphene with a main approach via energy-and timeconsuming wet chemistry route of graphite exfoliation. Jankovsky et al. 9 presented recently in details the thermal exfoliation/reduction of graphite oxide.The focus of this work is to obtain hierarchical layered carbons. Such few-layered graphene is also called 3D graphene 10 which, in fact, has many potential applications including energy storage (capacitors, electrodes), gas sensing, catalysis, biomedicine (biocompatible scaffolds), adsorption, hydrogels, and composites. As for example, Zhang et al. reported recently the synthesis of porous 3D graphene-based material with excellent properties for such applications. 11Herein we apply a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), also called combustion synthesis (thermolysis) which has been widely used for years for fabrication of many compounds with large negative heat of formation.12,13 Such fast process usually progresses in a self-sustaining and energy self-efficient regime.7 In fact, we have shown elsewhere that SiC nanowires can be efficiently synthesized from simple starting reactants (Si/Teflon).14,15 Zhao et al. presented recently 16 an approach for synthesizing graphene through a magnesiothermic reduction of calcium carbonate, while Poh et al. 17 synthesized graphenes for electrochemical applications via reduction of CO 2 by lithium.The aim of this work was to test such a synthetic strategy for converting carbon-containing Ca/Mg oxalates into 3D graphene-related materials. The electrochemical measurements were performed to e...

The main objective of this research is to prepare inundation map of a section of Babai Basin and to find out the inundated areas for different return periods. In order to achieve the objectives, Geographic Information System (GIS) and HEC-RAS along with HEC-GeoRAS extension were used as tools. Coordinates were used as primary parameter and were obtained from survey to generate geometric data such as Triangular Irregular Networks (TIN), streamline, river bank and flow paths. After importing the geometry data into HEC-RAS, hydraulic modelling was applied by using flow data as main input. As a result, the watershed area of the Babai basin has been successfully modelled and map showing the flooded areas along the Babai basin has been delineated. The flooded area was geometrically overlaid on the topographic map to outline the affected areas. The area under the influence of the flood were assessed which shows that about 49% of total inundated areas comprises farming land. Also a sensitivity analysis was performed to predict the change in percentage of flooded areas when Maning’s parameter was increased by 10% and when kept same in both banks and channel. However, differences in figure of inundated areas are insignificant to variations made in Maning’s n.

The objective of this research is to employ the natural dyes in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). On account of eco-friendly, renewable, and non-hazardous properties of natural dyes over silicon, a semiconductor, photo-sensitizer in conventional solar cells,  cyclohexane extract of Terminalia alata, a natural dye, was employed as photo-sensitizer. The photoanodes ZnO and 5% Al-doped ZnO for DSSCs were developed by spray pyrolysis. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) has shown hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO with lattice constants a = 3.2487 Å and b = 5.1518 Å having particle size 25.85 nm for ZnO and 33.17 nm for Al-doped ZnO. The DSSC properties such as solar conversion efficiency (η), short-circuit current density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), and fill factor (FF) were found to be 0.31%, 2.10 mA/cm2, 0.73V, and 45% for ZnO photoanode and 0.37%, 2.25mA/cm2, 0.70 V, and 52.10% for 5% Al-doped photoanode respectively. BIBECHANA 17 (2020) 27-32