​Evaluating Outcome of Radiofrequency Surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Background: Pleural effusion is one of the most common signs seen in respiratory pathologies. An attempt to establish commonetiologies underlying pleural effusion helps in effective management of the same.Materials and Methods: After obtaining proper informed consent, patients presenting with pleural effusion underwent clinicalexamination in addition to radiological and biochemical investigations. Where needed, the diagnosis was confirmed usingpleural biopsy and bacteriological analysis.Results: Investigations confirmed tuberculosis in 23 patients, malignancy in seven cases, congestive cardiac failure in fourcases, parapneumonic causes in 12 patients, hypoproteinemia in two patients, and pulmonary thromboembolism in two patients.Conclusion: The present findings show that tuberculosis is the most common cause of pleural effusion in our patients. A morecomprehensive study would help us to further strengthen our findings.

Treatment of municipal landfill leachate by solar photocatalytic method using fixed titanium dioxide.

Treatment of municipal landfill leachate by fixed TiO2 photocatalytic method was investigated in the present study using sunlight as light source. Indigenous TiO2 was immobilized with white cement. The leachate used in the study was collected from Kodungaiyur dumpsite in Chennai. Optimization of pH, catalyst dose and exposure time were carried out. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) was used to determine the degradation efficiency. The degradation efficiency of leachate was found to be 85% with a batch flat reactor under optimum condition. Fixed catalyst was found to be reusable for 5 times without any reduction in the efficiency. The degradation process was found to follow pseudo first order kinetics.

Removal of textile dyes from textile dye effluent using TBAB based aqueous biphasic systems.

Aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) are useful for the extraction of dye molecules from aqueous solution. Thus, they can be used in textile dye bath effluent treatment. The partitioning behavior of two commercially used textile dyes-Cibacron Scarlet LS 2G and Astacryl Red 3B were investigated in a TBAB-salt aqueous biphasic systems. It was found that all three salts, namely sodium chloride, sodium sulphate and sodium carbonate, investigated caused partitioning of dye into the upper TBAB rich phase. The efficiency of separation increased in the order NaCl < Na2SO4 < Na2CO. It was found that the cationic dye partitioned better than the anionic dye in the system. A concentration of 5 g/l of dye was extracted into the upper layer. Alteration of solution pH did not cause any significant difference in distribution ratios. Studies were extended to actual dye bath effluent and small scale up studies carried out. Efficiencies of removal obtained in all cases were extremely good with maximum efficiencies above 98 %.

Evaluation and analysis of the noise quality of Ambur, Tamil Nadu, India.

The noise levels of Ambur town were studied in silence, residential, commercial and industrial zones. Noise levels were assessed in 22 locations in a typical peak and non-peak hours of a day. In non-peak hours, a gradual decrease in noise levels is detected. The results show that the noise pollution in the city is widespread throughout most of its area. The noise in these areas is composite in nature and generated from many sources near and far with no particular sound predominance. Based on the results, some remedial measures were suggested. Public participation, education, traffic management, structural designing play a major role in noise management.