Small Cuts Research Articles

Micropropagation of Bambusa vulgaris var. striata

Bambusa vulgaris var. striata is a widely cultivated bamboo species in rural Madhya Pradesh for its versatile uses. The vegetative propagation becomes the only viable alternative for this species because B. vulgaris does not set seed after sparse flowering, which makes seedling progenies unavailable. A low-cost propagation trial was conducted to explore the clonal propagation techniques for the species with two types of small branch cuttings, nodal leafy cuttings and tip cuttings. The cuttings, after treating with 1, 2 per cent and 0.1 per cent, solutions of, bavastin and Hgcl 2 were kept in non-mist propagator to let them to root for assessing the rooting ability. The cuttings were rooted in three weeks and were allowed to grow in the polybags for 6 months under nursery condition. The study reveals that both types of branch cuttings are able to develop roots, shoots, to survive and to form rhizome under the nursery condition. Rooting ability of the cuttings was significantly enhanced by the application of rooting hormone — IAA. The length of the longest root varied significantly neither with the cutting types nor the concentrations of IAA solution.

Effects of Packaging Methods on the Color of Beef Muscles Through Influencing Myoglobin Status, Metmyoglobin Reductase Activity and Lipid Oxidation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of myoglobin, lipid oxidation and MetMb reductase of beef and its influential mechanism on color stability during postmortem aging under three packaging systems. Fresh bovine longissimus dorsi muscles were packaged under air-permeable packaging (AP), vacuum packaging (VP) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP, 80% O2 + 20% CO2) and stored at 4C in dark for 10 days. The color of beef from MAP was more stable, while OxyMb content and MetMb reductase activity of VP were higher than those from samples of AP and MAP at 7 and 10 days (P < 0.05). The lipid oxidation of VP samples was significantly lower than those of samples from AP and MAP (P < 0.05). In conclusion, MetMb reductase activity, the status of lipid and myoglobin could be the key factors that decide the color stability of beef during chilled storage under different packaging conditions. Practical Applications MAP is often introduced for the packaging of small cuts and high-priced fresh beef such as psoas major (PM) or muscles to preserve stable bright red color and extend the shelf life. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) can affect the tenderness of beef through oxidative modifications during chilled storage. However, the potential mechanism about how MAP, VP and AP influence color stability of beef samples is still unclear. Our results suggest that the decrease of color stability of beef samples from AP and MAP could be closely associated with myoglobin and lipid oxidation and the color stability of AP and MAP beef samples was further lower the level of color stability compared with VP during chilled storage. VP improved color stability of fresh beef obviously during chilled storage.

Early root development of field-grown poplar: effects of planting material and genotype

Poplar trees (Populus spp.) are used widely for soil conservation. A key advantage is their ability to establish from unrooted stem sections of varying dimensions, ranging from small cuttings to large poles. This study determined root length and biomass of young trees from three different-sized stem sections and quantified clonal variation. Two concurrent field trials were conducted: trial 1 compared root attributes of trees from cuttings, stakes, and poles of a single poplar clone, while trial 2 compared those of trees from cuttings of six poplar clones. Excavations of entire trees were conducted in autumn for three (trial 1) or two (trial 2) years after planting. Total root mass averaged over 3 years was in the order poles (364 g) > stakes (70 g) > cuttings (17 g), and total root length was in the order poles (73 m) > stakes (21 m) > cuttings (7 m). Maximum lateral root extension was approximately 2.6 m from poles, 1.7 m from stakes, and 0.8 m from cuttings. Clonal variation in trees from cuttings was found for both mean total root mass (10.4–45.9 g) and total root length (3.5–11.8 m). In both trials, root mass and length increased, decreased, or were unchanged with increasing 0.5-m increments of the distance from stem and soil depth, depending on year, planting material, root diameter, and their interaction. Early root development from poles was greater than from cuttings, with development from stakes being intermediate. Different poplar clones exhibited large variation in root biomass development within 2 years of planting. The results provide an understanding of the differences in early root development of poplar planting materials and clones used for soil conservation and other purposes and guidance on appropriate tree spacings of different planting materials to achieve root interlock.

Use of catheters in male patients: focus on selection and care.

Male catheterisation is a skilled procedure undertaken by health professionals on a regular basis to relieve or manage urinary symptoms (Skills for Health, 2008; Royal College of Nursing (RCN), 2012). What does it actually involve? I have been working in the continence specialism for over 20 years, and have realised that while male catheterisation is perceived to be a ‘routine’ procedure, it actually involves a complex set of skills. These include: anatomical knowledge of the male urinary tract, good assessment skills, and excellent communication and planning, while still having the competency to undertake the procedure. It is vital that health professionals understand the anatomy and functions of the male urinary tract and complications associated with poor catheterisation techniques (RCN, 2012; Loveday et al, 2014). The procedure of catheterisation involves the passage of a hollow tube, usually via the urethra or a small cut in the abdomen, into a poorly functioning bladder. In men, it is typically inserted to relieve symptoms of acute/chronic urinary retention due to outflow obstruction, such as prostate and urethral strictures (a single or multiple narrowing(s)) along the length of the urethra (Vahr et al, 2013) or due to neuropathic conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebrovascular accident, or diabetes. There are three ways to catheterise: intermittent, urethral, and supra pubic. The correct procedure for an individual can only be ascertained after assessing the individual’s dexterity, cognitive ability, independence, and willingness to undertake the procedure/care for the catheter, while considering the presenting urinary symptoms.

Parametric Study of Defect Detection in Pipes with Bend Using Guided Ultrasonic Waves

The propagation behaviour of guided ultrasonic waves in a steel pipe with welded bend is studied by finite element simulation. The effectiveness of the longitudinal L(0,2) and torsional T(0,1) guided waves in detecting circumferential cut near the weld is investigated. In order to identify the presence of the defect, the reflection strength due to the cut is studied. The geometry of the weld is constructed based on common V-bevel butt joints and the anisotropy of the 316L stainless steel weld is included to correctly predict the scattering of ultrasonic waves. The finite element model is built to allow high accuracy. Detection of small circumferential cut (up to 60° circumferential extent) can be achieved with longitudinal L(0,2) mode. Detection of moderate to large circumferential cut can be achieved by torsional T(0,1) or longitudinal L(0,2) modes, with T(0,1) mode preferred due to its less mode conversion to higher order modes.

Traumatic superior oblique tendon rupture: case presentation

We present a 47-year-old male with superior oblique (SO) tendon rupture that developed due to a broken metal hook while installing snow chains on his car. The patient presented to our clinic as an emergency for the right eye trauma and pain. The examination revealed a small cut in the right upper eyelid and an edematous tendinous structure that extended downwards through the conjunctival cut at the upper fornix. This structure was thought to be the SO tendon. Emergency exploration and SO tendon repair were performed under general anesthesia. The SO tendon was sutured to its own insertion region 5 mm in width and 5 mm behind a point 3 mm temporal to the superior rectus muscle. The conjunctiva was also repaired. There was 6 PD (prism diopter) right hypertropia and vertical diplopia on postoperative follow-up. The diplopia symptoms improved in the postoperative 3rd month. The patient had no diplopia at the 6th month follow-up but 4 PD hypertropia continued.

Exploitation of dolphins (Cetacea: Delphinidae) at a 6000 yr old Preceramic site in the Pearl Island archipelago, Panama

Dolphins are widespread in warm oceanic and coastal waters. They habitually frequent islands. In California, Chile, and other localities, prehistoric peoples targeted dolphins. Some communities specialised in their capture. Elsewhere, prehistoric human use of cetaceans is attributed to opportunistic exploitation of active or stranded animals. In Meso- and Central America, the scarcity of cetaceans in archaeological sites is inferred to reflect the difficulties of their capture at sea with available technology. An unrecorded regional pattern is evident on Pedro González Island in the Pearl Islands (Panama). Remains of bottlenose and common dolphins were found in a Preceramic midden (“Playa Don Bernardo” [PDB]) located in a reef- and mangrove-fringed bay. Eight 14C-dates bracket the deposit between 6200 and 5600calibrated yearsBP. The Preceramic strata, which are between 0.8m and nearly 4m deep, are capped by a pottery-bearing soil deposited after a 3000-yr. hiatus in occupation. Delphinid bones and teeth represent 8% of 3660 mammal specimens identified to Family in three small test cuts. These cuts represent only 0.7% of the estimated midden area. A minimum of fourteen dolphin individuals is inferred: 11 belong to common dolphin (Delphinus), two to bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops), and one, possibly, to harbour dolphin (cf Stenella). Several bones show evidence for cuts, scrapes and thermal alteration. Some modifications are anthropogenic. Dry season upwelling induces shoaling fish to enter bays in the Pearl Islands attracting their nektonic, avian and dolphin predators. Ecologically, Don Bernardo Bay suits the short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the common bottlenose nose dolphin (Tursiops tuncatus) — the most likely species to be present on the basis of osteology and zoogeography. The opportunistic use of naturally beached dolphins is one hypothesis for their procurement at PDB. Another is intentional human interference: corralling and driving dolphins with watercraft when they entered Don Bernardo Bay to feed or under threat from shark attacks. Ethnographic evidence around the world is supportive. PDB's total subsistence strategy was multi-faceted, comprising exploiting dolphins and marine turtles, farming, marine shore collecting, marine coastal fishing, and hunting in island forests and secondary vegetation. The population included experienced seafarers. Among the exploited mammals, dolphins provided easily the largest quantities of edible tissues, fats and oils.

Firm Life Cycle and Real-Activity Based Earnings Management

We examine real-activity based earnings management, i.e., cuts in discretionary spending to report small profits, across introductory, growth and mature stage firms. We use the cash flow components to classify a firm’s life cycle. We predict and find that firms in the mature stage, on average cut discretionary spending to report small profits; but firms in the introductory and growth stages do not. We examine future performance and document the following: (a) firms in all stages that report small profits and have small cuts in discretionary spending exhibit better short-term performance; (b) firms in the mature stage that report large profits and have large cuts in discretionary spending exhibit worse future performance; and (c) firms in the introductory and growth stages that have small and large cuts in discretionary spending and report large profits exhibit better future performance. Collectively, this shows the importance of considering firm’s life cycle when examining real-activity based earnings management and its consequences.

A Structure Theorem for Strong Immersions

AbstractA graph H is strongly immersed in G if H is obtained from G by a sequence of vertex splittings (i.e., lifting some pairs of incident edges and removing the vertex) and edge removals. Equivalently, vertices of H are mapped to distinct vertices of G (branch vertices) and edges of H are mapped to pairwise edge‐disjoint paths in G, each of them joining the branch vertices corresponding to the ends of the edge and not containing any other branch vertices. We describe the structure of graphs avoiding a fixed graph as a strong immersion. The theorem roughly states that a graph which excludes a fixed graph as a strong immersion has a tree‐like decomposition into pieces glued together on small edge cuts such that each piece of the decomposition has a path‐like linear decomposition isolating the high degree vertices.

Cyber Security Analysis of Power Networks by Hypergraph Cut Algorithms

This paper presents exact solution methods for analyzing vulnerability of electric power networks to a certain kind of undetectable attacks known as false data injection attacks. We show that the problems of finding the minimum number of measurement points to be attacked undetectably reduce to minimum cut problems on hypergraphs, which admit efficient combinatorial algorithms. Experimental results indicate that our exact solution methods run as fast as the previous methods, most of which provide only approximate solutions. We also present an algorithm for enumerating all small cuts in a hypergraph, which can be used for finding vulnerable sets of measurement points.

Effects of Electromagnetic Heating on Quick Freezing

Purpose: Quick freezing is widely used in commercial food storage. Well-known freezing techniques such as individual quick freezing require a low-temperature coolant and small cuts for the heat-transfer efficiency. However, the freezing method for bulk food resembles techniques used in the 1970s. In this study, electromagnetic (EM) heating was applied to improve the quick freezing of bulk food. Methods: During freezing, the surface of food can be rapidly cooled by an outside coolant, but the inner parts of the food cool slowly owing to the latent heat from the phase change. EM waves can directly heat the inner parts of food to prevent it from freezing until the outer parts finish their phase change and are cooled rapidly. The center temperature of garlic cloves was probed with optical thermo sensors while liquid nitrogen (LN) was sprayed. Results: When EM heating was applied, the center cooling time of the garlic cloves from freezing until -10°C was 48 s, which was approximately half the value of 85 s obtained without EM heating. For the white radish cubes, the center cooling time was also improved, from 288 to 132 s. The samples frozen by LN spray with EM heating had a closer hardness to the unfrozen samples than the samples frozen by LN only. Conclusions: The EM heating during quick freezing functions to maintain the hardness of fresh food by reducing the freezing time from 0 to -10°C.

On the damages detection in aluminium beam using Hilbert-Huang transformation

Purpose– Continuous on-line monitoring of structural integrity are in priority in many engineering fields such as aerospace, automotive, civilian structures, and industrial applications. Of all these possible applications, the aerospace industry has one of the highest payoffs. Possible damage can lead to catastrophic failures and costly inspections. On the other hand, processing a signal consists of important feature from sensors measurements to reach the considered target. Typically, the sensors translate a physical phenomenon from one or many sources in temporal variations or in spatial variations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate damages, in terms of suddenly screw removal or in a small cut, detection in vibrating (clamped-free) aluminum beam structures using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method along with the Hilbert-Huang transformation (HHT). The perspective is to identify very small defects in real aircraft structures.Design/methodology/approach– The proposed method deals with a new time-frequency signal processing analysis tool, for damages detection in a vibrating plate. An experimental test ring is used in order to excite a clamped-free aluminum plate. Two types of excitations are used. The first one is a harmonic excitation and the second one is a random excitation provided by an impact hammer. A hole and its filled by a screw with mass of 0.2 g, and a small cut is created, simulating a cut creation, are produced afterword, and the HHT is used in order to arise the developed oscillations, and to reveal hidden reflections in the data and to provide a high-resolution energy-time frequency spectrum.Findings– The major finding was the clear amplitude increment either for screw removal or for cut creation, using the EMD process with the HHT, giving the possibility to detect them.Originality/value– The use of the HHT to detect, using an experimental procedure, two different defects: a suddenly screw removal and a cut creation, in a clamped-free beam, excited by non-stationary and non-linear signals.

Techno-economic assessment of collagen casings waste management

Regarding the price of meat product filling in comparison with the negligible cost of the collagen casings, whole roll of the casings is discharged only on suspicion of a small cut during handling. Once the casings are designed to be biologically resistant, they represent relatively problematic waste that is nowadays rather transported to landfills. This represents a significant cost; once the role is opened, it becomes extremely voluminous. The long-term study that was carried out on a commercial scale assessed two methods of utilization: composting of highly disintegrated casings and composting of charred casings. Robust qualitative and financial analysis revealed that the composting of charred casings was more meaningful both from agrochemical and financial point of view.

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of repair in acute and chronic wound healing.

SummaryA considerable understanding of the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning healthy acute wound healing has been gleaned from studying various animal models, and we are now unravelling the mechanisms that lead to chronic wounds and pathological healing including fibrosis. A small cut will normally heal in days through tight orchestration of cell migration and appropriate levels of inflammation, innervation and angiogenesis. Major surgeries may take several weeks to heal and leave behind a noticeable scar. At the extreme end, chronic wounds – defined as a barrier defect that has not healed in 3 months – have become a major therapeutic challenge throughout the Western world and will only increase as our populations advance in age, and with the increasing incidence of diabetes, obesity and vascular disorders. Here we describe the clinical problems and how, through better dialogue between basic researchers and clinicians, we may extend our current knowledge to enable the development of novel potential therapeutic treatments.What's already known about this topic? Much is known about the sequence of events contributing to normal healing. The two pathologies of wound healing are chronic wounds and scarring. What does this study add? We explain how the cell and molecular mechanisms of healing guide the therapeutic strategies. We introduce zebrafish and the fruit fly, Drosophila as novel wound healing models. We highlight unanswered questions and future directions for wound healing research.

Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery.

Ann Cardiothorac Surg 2013;2(6):857 www.annalscts.com Background The mitral valve controls the direction and flow of blood through the left chambers of the heart. If the valve becomes too hard (calcified) and too narrow (stenosis), flow will be reduced; if the valve becomes too loose, flow might travel backwards (regurgitation). Abnormal blood flow will force the heart to work harder, eventually causing heart failure. Symptoms that this is occurring include shortness of breath, palpitations, chest pain, syncope and/or fatigue. When these symptoms become severe, the surgeon can decide to repair or replace the mitral valve through open heart surgery, which usually requires the breastbone to be cut open, or through a minimally invasive approach, which requires only small cuts to be made in the right side of the chest. Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery ACS Patient Page

The Effect of Stimulatory Compounds on Baseline and Impaired Mucociliary Clearance in the Guinea Pig

Mucociliary clearance (MCC) is an important mechanism for clearing the lung of foreign matter and is impaired in diseases such as COPD. Smoking reduces MCC in humans and may contribute to the disease, whereas agents such as β2-adrenergic agonists, hypertonic saline and mannitol are known to increase MCC rate. We have developed a model which can be used to identify compounds with potential to increase or rectify defective MCC. Methods Guinea pigs were exposed to air or tobacco smoke (TS) for 4 days and 24hrs after the last exposure the trachea was exposed and fluorescent beads applied via a small cut near the carina. After a set time, the distance traveled by the beads was visualised and measured. Isotonic saline, hypertonic saline (7%), mannitol (16%) or Formoterol (1.7µg/kg) were dosed i.n. 1hr prior to bead administration. All data are given as mean±SD. Results Administration of mannitol increased (+62%, p<0.001) MCC rate compared to air-exposed controls (5.44±0.93 vs 3.36±0.65mm/min). Hypertonic saline had no effect (3.91±0.96 vs 3.36±0.65mm/min). Formoterol, at a known bronchodilator dose, also reproducibly increased (+65%) MCC rate (5.56±1.69 vs 3.34±1.17mm/min). Exposure to TS caused a marked decrease (-36%) in MCC rate (3.88±1.03 vs 2.49±0.72mm/min, p<0.001). The TS-induced reduction in MCC rate was reproducible over 5 separate studies. Formoterol significantly increased MCC rate (+60%) in the TS-exposed animals (3.71±0.54 vs 2.49±0.72mm/min, p<0.05) to within air exposed, vehicle control group levels. This model demonstrates that MCC rate can be reproducibly measured in the guinea pig trachea. The baseline rate can be enhanced by Formoterol and mannitol, impaired by TS-exposure and subsequently restored to baseline rate by Formoterol. Funded by Argenta

Workspace Shape and Characteristics for Human Two- and Three-Fingered Precision Manipulation.

To study precision manipulation, which involves repositioning an object in the fingertips and is used in everyday tasks such as writing and key insertion, and also for domain-specific tasks such as small scalpel cuts, using tweezers, and hand soldering. In this study, the range of positions (workspace) through which 19 participants manipulated a 3.3-4.1 cm-diameter object are measured with a magnetic tracker. Each participant performed two conditions: a two-finger thumb-index finger condition and a three-finger thumb-index-middle finger condition. The observed workspaces, normalized to a 17.5 cm hand length, are small compared to free-finger trajectories; for the two-finger trials, 68% of points are within 1.05 cm of the centroid and 95% are within 2.31 cm, while the three-finger case shows a narrower distribution, with 68% of points within 0.94 cm of the centroid and 95% of points within 2.19 cm. The longest axis is a long thin arc in the proximal-palmar plane. Analysis of fingertip workspaces shows that the index fingertip workspace volume is the most linear predictor of object workspace (R(2) = 0.98). Precision manipulation workspace size and shape is shown, along with how the fingers are used during the manipulation. The results have many applications, including normative data for rehabilitation, guidelines for ergonomic device design, and benchmarking prosthetic and robotic hands.

Transcription: Relax, it's just a small cut.

DNA topoisomerase 1 mediates single-strand nicks to relieve the inhibitory effect of DNA supercoiling on enhancer-dependent transcription.

Assessment of viability of human fat injection into nude mice with micro-computed tomography.

Lipotransfer is a vital tool in the surgeon's armamentarium for the treatment of soft tissue deficits of throughout the body. Fat is the ideal soft tissue filler as it is readily available, easily obtained, inexpensive, and inherently biocompatible.(1) However, despite its burgeoning popularity, fat grafting is hampered by unpredictable results and variable graft survival, with published retention rates ranging anywhere from 10-80%. (1-3) To facilitate investigations on fat grafting, we have therefore developed an animal model that allows for real-time analysis of injected fat volume retention. Briefly, a small cut is made in the scalp of a CD-1 nude mouse and 200-400 µlof processed lipoaspirate is placed over the skull. The scalp is chosen as the recipient site because of its absence of native subcutaneous fat, and because of the excellent background contrast provided by the calvarium, which aids in the analysis process. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is used to scan the graft at baseline and every two weeks thereafter. The CT images are reconstructed, and an imaging software is used to quantify graft volumes. Traditionally, techniques to assess fat graft volume have necessitated euthanizing the study animal to provide just a single assessment of graft weight and volume by physical measurement ex vivo. Biochemical and histological comparisons have likewise required the study animal to be euthanized. This described imaging technique offers the advantage of visualizing and objectively quantifying volume at multiple time points after initial grafting without having to sacrifice the study animal. The technique is limited by the size of the graft able to be injected as larger grafts risk skin and fat necrosis. This method has utility for all studies evaluating fat graft viability and volume retention. It is particularly well-suited to providing a visual representation of fat grafts and following changes in volume over time.

Air leak with intact cuff inflation system: A case report with brief review of literature.

Sir, Tracheal re-intubation because of air leak after a successful tracheal intubation is not very uncommon in anaesthesia practice. The most common illustrated causes for air leaks are related to a defect in the cuff, inflation tube/lumen, pilot balloon, or the spring loaded inflation valve. Here, we report an unexpected product quality compromise leading to appreciable air leak without a defect in cuff inflation system. The trachea of a 38-year-old lady posted for elective transsphenoidal excision of pituitary adenoma was successfully intubated with a 7 mm internal diameter disposable flexometallic endotracheal tube (ETTfm) (Sterimed™) and was secured with elastic adhesive plaster at lip line corresponding to 21 cm on the ETTfm tube. A few minutes later while positioning the patient, we noticed audible air leak from the mouth. Hence, we followed a stepwise approach to ascertain and fix the cause. In the first step, we pushed 2 ml air (in addition to 5 ml air used to inflate the cuff initially) and found that the pilot balloon was holding the air that ensured an intact cuff and a competent inflation valve. However, the air leak was still audible from patient's oral cavity with each mechanised positive pressure breath. In the next step, we ascertained the correct position of tracheal tube with check laryngoscopy which confirmed that the entire cuff is below the vocal cord. In the final step, we presumed that the tube may be too small for the trachea of the patient. However auscultation over trachea was negative; but to give the benefit of doubt we re-intubated the patient with a new ETTfm tube and with this, there was no air leak. After uneventful completion of surgery and subsequent extubation, we re-examined and compared both the ETTsfm to localise the cause of air leak. On careful physical examination, we found a small defect near the insertion point of the inflation tube in the first ETTfm [Figure 1], suggesting air leak from the wall of the tube despite the pilot balloon appearing to be firmly inflated. Figure 1 The red in colour arrow pointing toward the oval defect in the wall of the flexometallic tube. The flexometallic endotracheal tube is straightened to make the defect more appreciable Normally, cuff leak or leak around the cuff can be identified by looking at pilot balloon, palpation of the cuff over suprasternal space, auscultation over trachea and bubbles coming out from the oral and nasal cavity if secretions are present. However, the leak from the wall of the ETTfm at the insertion point of pilot balloon is difficult to identify unless we look for it because the junction is situated 18 cm from tip of the ETTfm just behind the incisor and possibly much above the accumulated secretion if any, to form the bubbles. Literature search illustrated few more case reports implicating improper fixation of the tube by adhesive plaster,[1] repeated use and attempt to remove the adhesive plaster,[2] bitten notch on re-sterilised tube[3] and low product quality compliance[4] as the cause of unexpected air leak from after tracheal intubation. In all these reports, the recommended in vitro test failed to detect such type of occult leak.[5] However, one author reported that such occult leak can be detected if, the tube was examined by flexing it opposite to its natural curve immersed in a bowl of water.[6] Our case report along with the discussed literature re-affirms that air leaks may be present in all types of ETT (both flexometallic and polyvinyl chloride) irrespective of their trade mark. The structural defect leading to air leak may be there in a newly opened ETT or may be caused by repeated use of re-sterilised tube. The small cuts and holes on the convex surface of the ETTfm and near the entry point of the inflation tube usually go undetected by routine in vitro test. Considering the fact that a small air leak at the beginning of the surgery may become larger leading to dangerous inadequate ventilation, an ideal solution for this type of problem would be use of a magnifying glass to verify structural integrity of cuff, insertion point and pilot balloon. However, as it is practically not possible to check each and every tube using a magnifying glass, such problems do occur irrespective of manufacturer. Hence, anaesthesiologist should be aware of such possibilities, and this should be kept in the mind as a diagnosis of exclusion, for which the best solution is change of the tube. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.