Polymer composites from natural fibers and recycled waste surgical masks during COVID-19 pandemic.

The crucial role of face masks is highlighted in our day-to-day life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Polypropylene (PP)-based disposable face masks are widely used to hold back viral transmission. The discarded masks can create a huge burden of contamination on the environment. The purpose of this work is to recycle and reuse discarded masks to reduce environmental pollution. A simple and innovative technique to recycle surgical masks into composites of higher mechanical strength and antimicrobial properties is explored to reuse in packaging materials and cutleries. The surgical masks composed of PP fibers are recycled to use as a matrix material to reinforce with sisal and hemp fibers. The hot compression molding technique is used to sandwich the PP masks with natural fibers. The tensile strength of the composites is remarkably increased by 197% and 305% for sisal fiber composites and hemp fiber composites, respectively. The tensile elongation also increased to 574% for sisal fiber composites. The resulting composites exhibit notable antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogen responsible for common staphylococcal food poisoning. The composites are found to be suitable to use as food contact cutleries and packaging materials.

Transcatheter closure of ventricular septal defects in children less than 10 kg: experience from a tertiary care referral hospital in Eastern India.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of percutaneous transcatheter device closure of ventricular septal defects in children weighing less than 10 kg. BACKGROUND: Although percutaneous transcatheter device closure of ventricular septal defect is a well-established method of treatment in older children and adolescents, there is limited data on device closure in small children weighing less than 10 kg. We present our institutional experience of transcatheter VSD closure in children weighing less than 10 kg. METHOD: Medical records were reviewed for 16 children, who were selected for device closure of ventricular septal defects based on the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Out of 65 patients with a diagnosis of ventricular septal defect, 16 children less than 10 kg were attempted for percutaneous device closure. In 13 patients, the device was successfully released, and 3 patients needed surgical closure of the defect. Mean age and weight of the patients were 17.3 ± 12.7 months and 6.8 ± 3.2 kg, respectively. Mean defect size was 6 mm (range 3-10). There was no incidence of device embolisation or heart block or death. Five patients had residual left-to-right shunt immediately after the device release, which got closed by the first month's follow-up. We had one accidental perforation of right ventricular free wall at the time of crossing of the defect, which was successfully repaired surgically. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous device closure of ventricular septal defect in small children with weight below 10 kg is feasible with good short-term outcome. Careful patient selection is essential for procedural success and to avoid complications.

Hyperviscosity syndrome revisited.

Secondary erythrocytosis occurs in cyanotic heart disease as a physiological response to chronic hypoxia, and this leads to hyperviscosity and various complications of the same. Microvascular stasis due to hyperviscosity results in symptoms including headache, fatigue, paraesthesia, and loss of vision. An important and dreadful feature of hyperviscosity is overt thrombosis in organ systems, resulting in cerebrovascular accident and myocardial infarction. Limited body iron store in a state of secondary erythrocytosis brings forth iron-deficient microcytic red cells; these being more rigid and less deformable than normocytic cells, further aggravate vascular occlusion. The management of hyperviscosity syndrome starts with intravenous hydration and correction of latent iron deficiency. However, therapeutic phlebotomy may be employed as a rescue measure if symptoms persist despite correction of dehydration and anemia. We present a series of four patients with uncorrected cyanotic congenital heart disease who presented with a spectrum of features of hyperviscosity and discuss pathophysiology, clinical features, and management of hyperviscosity in detail.

Development of a reduced-graphene-oxide based superparamagnetic nanocomposite for the removal of nickel (II) from an aqueous medium via a fluorescence sensor platform.

Reduced-graphene-oxide based superparamagnetic nanocomposite (GC) was fabricated and applied for the remediation of Ni(II) from an aqueous medium. The as-prepared GC was extensively characterized by Raman, TEM, AFM, SEM-EDX, SQUID, and BET analyses. Quantitative immobilization of Ni(II) in an aqueous solution by the fluorescent sensor platform of GC was explored at varying pH, doses, contact times, and temperatures. The pseudo-second-order kinetics equation governed the overall sorption process at optimized pH of 5 (±0.2). The superior monolayer sorption capacity was 228mgg(-1) at 300K. Negative ΔG(0) indicated the spontaneous sorption nature, whereas the positive ΔH(0) resulted from an increase in entropy (positive ΔS(0)) at the solid-liquid interface during the endothermic reaction. The lower enthalpy agreed with the relatively high regeneration (approximately 91%) of the GC by 0.1M HCl, because of the formation of stable tetrahedral complex. The physisorption was well corroborated by calculated sorption energy (EDR ∼7kJmol(-1)) and the nature of the Stern-Volmer plot of the fluorescence-quenching data with reaction time. The GC played a pivotal role as a static fluorescent sensor platform (fluorophore) for Ni(II) adsorption. Magnetic property also indicated that GC could be easily separated from fluids by exploiting its superparamagnetic property.

A case of male goltz syndrome.

We present the case of a boy with a clinical diagnosis of Goltz syndrome (focal dermal hypoplasia), a rare genodermatosis characterized by widespread dysplasia of mesodermal and ectodermal tissues. A 9-year-old male patient with Goltz syndrome presented with typical skin lesions along with progressive dimness of vision and mental retardation since birth. It is inherited in an X-linked dominant fashion and is normally lethal in male patients, and so very few male patients, like the index case, have been reported.

A case of antley-bixler syndrome.

Antley-Bixler syndrome (ABS) is rare form of craniosynostosis of both autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive inheritance. We are reporting a female term appropriate for gestational age newborn with clinical features of frontal bossing, brachycephaly, proptosis, synostosis of radioulnar joints, hemangioma over nose and philtrum, hydrocephalus suggestive of ABS.