Abstract Introduction Choanal polyps are benign lesions arising from the sinonasal mucosa, extending through the choana into the nasopharynx. Though polyps arising from the maxillary sinus and extending to the choana are common, polyps arising from the sphenoid sinus ostium, posterior part of middle turbinate, and inferior and middle meatus are quite uncommon. Objective To document the site of origin of choanal polyps arising from unusual sites; their clinical, radiological, and histopathological characteristics, as well as diagnostic challenges and management. Methods This retrospective, single-center study included 14 patients aged 16 to 75-years-old with choanal polyps. After obtaining informed consent, their clinical, radiological and surgical details and histopathology reports were reviewed. Patients were followed for at least 6 months after surgery. Results The predominant symptoms were unilateral nasal obstruction (n = 9), snoring, rhinorrhea, and epistaxis. Though anterior rhinoscopy was unremarkable, a mass could be visualized during posterior rhinoscopy in the nasopharynx in 11 patients, and a mass could be directly visualized in the oropharynx in 2 patients. After diagnostic by nasal endoscopy, these polyps were noted to arise from the posterior aspect of the middle meatus (n = 6), middle turbinate (n = 3), posterior septum (n = 3), sphenoid sinus ostium (n = 1), and inferior meatus (n = 1). All patients were managed surgically. The histopathological examination revealed inflammatory polyp (n = 12), actinomycosis (n = 1), and rhinosporidiosis (n = 1). Patients were followed up for 6 to 22 months. We observed no complications or recurrence. Conclusion Diagnostic nasal endoscopy should be performed in all patients presenting with nasal obstruction, to rule out choanal polyps arising from unusual sites. Complete polyp removal and appropriate treatment based on histopathology prevents recurrence.

Abstract A compact, dual-band, and self-diplexing MIMO patch antenna with a shared aperture is presented for Industrial scientific medical (ISM) band and X-band communications. The structure consists of two orthogonal feed lines and a rectangular slot in a square patch. The size of the FR4 substrate is 50 × 50 × 1.6 mm3. The designed structure operates at 5.8 (ISM) and 8 GHz (X-band) frequencies independently with a simulated peak gain of 5.46 and 3.59 dBi respectively. A 13 dB of isolation is obtained for the two orthogonal ports. The obtained frequency ratio range is 1.20-1.33 over the reflection bandwidth. The design structure is fabricated and validated experimentally. The compactness and promising performance in terms of low ECC (Envelope Correlation Coefficient) (<0.1), high peak gain can make the proposed antenna a choice for current wireless devices.

ABSTRACT Objectives Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy is now a commonly performed procedure in most of renal transplantation centers. However, the suitability of laparoscopy for donors with abnormal venous anatomy is still a subject of debate. Materials and methods Between August 2007 and August 2014, 243 laparoscopic donor nephrectomies were performed in our institution. All donors were evaluated with preoperative three-dimensional spiral computed tomography (CT) angiography Thirteen (5.35%) donors had a left renal vein anomaly. A retrospective analysis was performed to collect donor and recipient demographics and perioperative data. Results Four donors had a type I retroaortic vein, seven had type II retroaortic vein and a circumaortic vein was seen in three donors. The mean operative time was 114±11 minutes and mean warm ischemia time was 202±12 seconds. The mean blood loss was 52.7±18.4mL and no donor required blood transfusion. Mean recipient creatinine at the time of discharge was 1.15±0.18mg/dL, and creatinine at six months and one year follow-up was 1.12±0.13mg/dL and 1.2±0.14mg/dL, respectively. There were no significant differences in operative time, blood loss, warm ischemia time, donor hospital stay or recipient creatinine at 6 months follow-up, following laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in patients with or without left renal vein anomalies. Conclusion Preoperative delineation of venous anatomy using CT angiography is as important as arterial anatomy. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy is safe and feasible in patients with retroaortic or circumaortic renal vein with good recipient outcome.

Abstract Attention has been given to reduce the cost of surfactant by using castor oil as an alternative natural source of feedstock. A new surfactant, sodium methyl ester sulfonate (SMES) was synthesised using ricinoleic acid methyl ester, which is obtained from castor oil, for enhanced oil recovery in petroleum industries. The performance of SMES was studied by measuring the surface tension with and without sodium chloride and its thermal stability at reservoir temperature. SMES exhibited good surface activity, reducing the surface tension of surfactant solution up to 38.4 mN/m and 27.6 mN/m without and with NaCl, respectively. During the thermal analysis of SMES, a 31.2% mass loss was observed from 70 ˚C to 500 ˚C. The phase behavior of the cosurfactant/SMES-oil-water system plays a key role in interpreting the performance of enhanced oil recovery by microemulsion techniques. Flooding experiments were performed using a 0.5 pore volume of synthesized SMES solutions at three different concentrations. In each case chase water was used to maintain the pressure gradient. The additional recoveries in surfactant flooding were found to be 24.53%, 26.04% and 27.31% for 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 mass% of surfactant solutions, respectively.

In order to improve mutton production, Dorset x Mandya and Dorset x Nellore halfbred rams were mated with Mecheri ewes to produce Dorset x Mecheri x Mandya and Dorset x Mecheri x Nellore quarterbreds. Least-squares analyses of the body weight of crossbred (n = 541) and purebred (n = 959) Mecheri sheep were made. The overall means for bodyweight of crossbred Mecheri sheep at birth, three, six, nine and 12 months of age were 2.27 ± 0.05, 7.97 ± 0.24, 11.84 ± 0.38, 14.73 ± 0.48 and 17.55 ± 0.56 kg, respectively and for purebred Mecheri sheep the values were 2.27 ± 0.02, 7.80 ± 0.10, 11.48 ± 0.15, 14.04 ± 0.17 and 16.23 ± 0.18 kg, respectively. Crossbreds had higher body weight than purebred Mecheri sheep at all age groups. However, it was not significant up to nine months of age. In general, period of lambing and sex of the lambs had significant effects on body weight of both genetic groups at different ages. The estimates of heritability for body weight ranged from 0.177 ± 0.129 to 0.338 ± 0.176 among different age groups. Highest heritability estimates were obtained for body weight at three and six months of age, hence these traits may be considered as selection criteria for improving the body weight of Mecheri sheep at different age groups.

The present work was carried out in two phases. First, enthalpy of mixing was measured and then the heat of vaporization for the same mixtures was obtained. The data are useful in the design of separation equipments. From the various designs available for the experimental determination of enthalpy of mixing, and heat of vaporization, the apparatus was selected, modified and constructed. The apparatus of enthalpy of mixing was tested with a known system Benzene - i-Butyl Alcohol and the data obtained was in very good agreement with literature values. Experiments were then conducted for mixtures of Ethyl Acetate with Benzene and Toluene. The experimental data was fitted to the standard correlations and the constants were evaluated. Heat of vaporization data were obtained from a static apparatus and tested for accuracy by conducting experiments with a known system Benzene - n-Hexane and the data obtained were found to be in agreement with literature values. Experiments were then conducted to measure heat of vaporization for the mixtures of Ethyl Acetate with Benzene and Toluene. Using experimental data of enthalpy of mixing from the first phase, and heat capacity data, the heat of vaporization were calculated.