Glycopyrrolate-induced polyuria: An unexpected side effect.

Polyuria is urine output exceeding 3 L/d in adults, primarily due to solute and water diuresis. In a hospital setting, mannitol and diuretics commonly lead to polyuria. We have found an interesting association of polyuria with glycopyrrolate; to the best of our knowledge, no case is reported in the literature. Here, we are describing a case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which developed polyuria during the hospital stay, which was secondary to glycopyrrolate.

Brucellosis in a Sickle Cell Patient with Hyposplenia.

Sickle cell disease patients are prone to infection and overwhelming sepsis because an immunedeficient state arises from asplenia (autosplenectomy/surgical splenectomy) and functional hyposplenism. The common pathogen encountered in sepsis with asplenic/hyposplenism patients is encapsulated organism, gram-negative bacilli, but in developing countries like India, there are many possibilities of infection by an uncommon organism that make it difficult to diagnose. Here, we have described a case of sickle cell disease presented with persistent fever and later, found to have an atrophic spleen with involvement of respiratory system and osteoarticular system. After extensive workup, he was diagnosed to be brucellosis. So, unusual infectious causes be kept as a differential diagnosis in a susceptible host while dealing with persistent symptoms. Uncommon infections like Brucella need to be studied in hyposplenism patients as data are lacking.

Layered SnS2/porous nickel foil based Schottky junction: An excellent ammonia sensor at room temperature.

In recent years, layered materials has gained immense attention in the field of gas sensing owing to their extraordinary electrical, optical and catalytic properties. Their gas sensing performance can further be improved by switching from ohmic to schottky based sensor due to exponential change of conductance in analyte environment. In most of the Schottky based gas sensor, the surface of the sensing material is covered by metal electrode which reduces the sensing performance. Herein, we have fabricated 2D SnS2 (thickness: 5.62 ± 1.26 nm) based Schottky junction for ammonia detection operated at room temperature using porous nickel foil which allows the analyte molecule to maximize the interaction with the sensing material. We have compared the performance of the Schottky junction sensor with that of SnS2 based ohmic sensor. The Schottky junction based sensor has 140.7 times higher response than SnS2 based ohmic sensor at 360 ppm. The response of the sensor exhibits exponential behavior with ammonia concentration which is explained by estimated barrier height modulation from 0.83 eV (in air) to 0.69 eV (at 225 ppm). In addition, the long term stability over six months of the sensor makes it a promising candidate for practical ammonia sensor operated at room temperature.

Effect of dissimilatory Fe(III) reducers on bio-reduction and nickel-cobalt recovery from Sukinda chromite-overburden.

The effect of an adapted dissimilatory iron reducing bacterial consortium (DIRB) towards bio-reduction of Sukinda chromite overburden (COB) with enhanced recovery of nickel and cobalt is being reported for the first time. The remarkable ability of DIRB to utilize Fe(III) as terminal electron acceptor reducing it to Fe(II) proved beneficial for treatment of COB as compared to previous reports for nickel leaching. XRD studies showed goethite as the major iron-bearing phase in COB. Under facultative anaerobic conditions, goethite was reduced to hematite and magnetite with the exposure of nickel oxide. FESEM studies showed DIRB to be associated with COB through biofilm formation with secondary mineral precipitates of magnetite deposited as tiny globular clusters on the extra polymeric substances. The morphological and mineralogical changes in COB, post DIRB application, yielded a maximum of 68.5% nickel and 80.98% cobalt in 10 days using 8M H2SO4.