Hypokalemia Among Children Having Acute Malnutrition with Diarrhea

Diarrhea is one the most common symptoms encountered in emergency department in children specially and needs prompt management. There are many disastrous complications and hypokalemia is one and most important of them. Hypokalemia warrants urgent diagnosis and expert management. Objective: To determine the frequency of hypokalemia among children having acute malnutrition with diarrhea. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done in Department of Pediatrics, Khairpur Medical College from 1st November 2021 to 30th April 2022. A total of 134 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included. Informed consent was taken from attendants. The data were collected on prepared proforma. Results: There were 134 patients in this study with The mean age of the cases was 2.4 ± 3.13 years. Male children 84 (62.6%) and were in majority while females comprising of 50(37.3%). Frequency of hypokalemia was 57 (42.5%). Conclusions: Our results showed that children with acute diarrhea and dehydration have an increased risk of developing hypernatremia and hypokalemia. Significant correlations were found between electrolyte imbalance and mortality.</jats:p

Comparison of Clipped Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and Clipless Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Context of Biliary Leakage

Objective: To compare the outcome of clipped laparoscopic cholecystectomy and clipless laparoscopic cholecystectomy in context of biliary leakage. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery Unit-II, Benazir Bhutto Hospital Rawalpindi from 1st September 2021 to 31st August 2022. Methodology: One hundred and twenty patients were included in the study and divided into two major groups. The biochemical analysis and ultrasonography was performed post 8 hours fasting. Group one had those cases which underwent clipped laparoscopic cholecystectomy while group 2 had those cases which underwent clipless laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The age of the patients was selected between 40 to 60 years and the prevalence for this sampling was considered as 20% in Pakistan. The demographic details, clinical history, signs and symptoms, clinical diagnosis based on USG, lipid profiling, and variables as post-operative time, hospital stay and ease in procedure were documented. Results: The mean age of the cases underwent clipped laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 42.3±12.11year with 40 females and 20 males who underwent those procedures. The mean age of the cases underwent clipless laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 40±11.05 years with 45 females and 15 males. The present study results evidently highlighted the fact that there were high percentage cases of biliary leakage seen in clipped cases than in the clipless cases. There were22 cases with 36.6% in clipped groups while 9 cases with biliary leakage such as 15% in clipless group. Conclusion: Clipless laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a better optional procedure with efficient usefulness in context to biliary leakage, operation time and hospital stays. Keywords: Outcome, Clipped laparoscopy cholecystectomy, Clipless laparoscopic cholecystectomy, Biliary leakage</jats:p

Assessment of the Anemic Conditions among the Females with Pregnancy at Tertiary Care Hospitals of Sindh Pakistan

Anemia is pathological disorder usually caused by mal nutrition and it was very common among feminine gender during gestational period, number of disease and death are also associated with this type of disorder during pregnancy. The major theme of the study is to evaluate the anemic condition along with prescribed medication among females during the period of pregnancy. Descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out for the period of 9 months at various tertiary care hospitals situated in rural areas of Sindh province. Total 273 females with pregnancy along with anemic condition, were selected by purposive sampling method. From total number of study subjects 71% females were diagnosed as anemic, that were further categorized as mild, moderate and severe, depend on their medical condition. It was observed that anemic condition was more common among infancy pregnant females with ages 20-29 years, the number of patients were 209 (76.5%). females with primary or secondary education had more problem of anemia as compared to females with intermediate or graduation. Anemic females with primary education (126), secondary education (73) whereas anemic female with intermediate (46) and with graduation anemic females were only (28). Females with multipara had severe anemic condition as females with primigravida. Anemic condition becomes more severe among females with second or third trimester. Anemic condition among females with 1st trimester was 37, in second trimester 109 whereas in 3rd trimester 127 anemic females were reported. For management of anemia among females with pregnancy depends upon the medication taking by them, number of females was 142, which were taking 3 or 4 medicine, while females with mono pharmacy were 95 and only 36 females were taking various multi vitamin, intravenous Iron supplement and it was concluded that anemia was more common among females resident of rural area due to unawareness regarding anemia and its associated complication. Another major cause was observed was mal nutrition.</jats:p

UV Blocking and Oxygen Barrier Coatings Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Packaging Applications

Photodegradation and oxidation are major causes of the deterioration of food, resulting in darkening, off-flavors, and nutrient deficiency. To reduce this problem, novel functional polymeric materials are being developed to retain food’s light sensitivity. Nanofillers are also used in a polymeric film to produce effective UV blockings and oxygen barrier coatings so that the degradation of the food can be delayed, thereby increasing the shelf life. For this purpose, polyvinyl alcohol coatings were prepared by the incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles. Polyvinyl alcohol is a naturally excellent barrier against oxygen, and the addition of ZnO particles at the nanoscale size has demonstrated effective UV blocking capabilities. In this work, the hydrothermal technique is used to produce ZnO nanoparticles, and these produced particles are then incorporated into the polyvinyl alcohol to produce thin films. These films are characterized in terms of the compositional, macroscopic, microscopic, and optical properties via X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), as well as UV–VIS spectroscopy. ZnO nanoparticles at different concentrations were incorporated into the PVA solution, and the films were processed via the blade coating method. With the addition of ZnO, the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of pure PVA was not altered and remained stable, and the lowest OTR was recorded as 0.65 cm3/m2·day·bar. Furthermore, the addition of ZnO increased the water contact angle (WCA) of PVA, and the highest WCA was recorded to be around more than 70°. Due to this, water permeability decreased. Additionally, PVA/ZnO films were highly flexible and bendable and maintained the OTR even after going through bending cycles of 20K. Furthermore, the addition of ZnO showed a significant UV blocking effect and blocked the rays below a wavelength of 380 nm. Finally, the optimized films were used for packaging applications, and it was observed that the packaged apple remained fresh and unoxidized for a longer period as compared with the piece of apple without packaging. Thus, based on these results, the PVA/ZnO films are ideally suited for packaging purposes and can effectively enhance the shelf life of food.</jats:p

Exploring the Heterocatalytic Proficiencies of ZnO Nanostructures in the Simultaneous Photo-Degradation of Chlorophenols

The development of innovative technology for effective pollutant degradation is becoming more important as a result of major environmental issues. Here, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using facile and aqueous chemical growth routes. Analytical techniques such as scanning electron micrographs (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Zeta Seizer (ZS), and Zeta Potential were used to analyze the resultant nanoparticles (ZP). The ZnO reveals a nanocluster texture that has a medium scale of 27 nm and a surface charge (17 ± 3 mV) with a wurtzite phase and crystalline nature. Photo catalysts have a higher potential for the thermal disposal of chlorophenols pollutants due to their low cost and simple synthesis procedure. The as-prepared sample underwent photocatalysis for the simultaneous photo-degradation of PCP and TCP as a model dye under sunlight. The ZnO nanostructure exhibited an exceptional degradation of around 85–90% for PCP and TCP in the aqua liquid, with the lowest amount of catalyst dosage of 240–250 μg individually and simultaneously, over 3 min beneath the sun ray. The greater productivity of the ZnO nanostructure for natural deterioration during solar irradiation indicates that the aqueous chemical growth enables the creation of effective and affordable photocatalysts for the photodegradation of a variety of environmental contaminants

Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Packaging Films Based on Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Glass Flakes

The majority of food packaging materials are petroleum-based polymers, which are neither easily recyclable nor ecologically friendly. Packaging films should preferably be transparent, light in weight, and easy to process, as well as mechanically flexible, and they should meet the criteria for food encapsulation. In this study, poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based films were developed by incorporating glass flakes into the films. The selection of PVA was based on its well-known biodegradability, whereas the selection of glass flakes was based on their natural impermeability to oxygen and moisture. The films were processed using the blade coating method and were characterized in terms of transparency, oxygen transmission rate, mechanical strength, and flexibility. We observed that the incorporation of glass flakes into the PVA matrix did not significantly change the transparency of the PVA films, and they exhibited a total transmittance of around 87% (at 550 nm). When the glass flakes were added to the PVA, a significant reduction in moisture permeation was observed. This reduction was also supported and proven by Bhardwaj’s permeability model. In addition, even after the addition of glass flakes to the PVA, the films remained flexible and showed no degradation in terms of the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), even after bending cycles of 23,000. The PVA film with glass flakes had decent tensile characteristics, i.e., around &gt;50 MPa. Increasing the concentration of glass flakes also increased the hardness of the films. Finally, a piece of bread was packaged in a well-characterized composite film. We observed that the bread packaged in the PVA film with glass flakes did not show any degradation at all, even after 10 days, whereas the bread piece packaged in a commercial polyethylene bag degraded completely. Based on these results, the developed packaging films are the perfect solution to replace commercial non-biodegradable films.</jats:p

UV Blocking and Oxygen Barrier Coatings Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Packaging Applications

Photodegradation and oxidation are major causes of the deterioration of food, resulting in darkening, off-flavors, and nutrient deficiency. To reduce this problem, novel functional polymeric materials are being developed to retain food&rsquo;s light sensitivity. Nanofillers are also used in a polymeric film to produce effective UV blockings and oxygen barrier coatings so that the degradation of the food can be delayed, thereby increasing the shelf life. For this purpose, polyvinyl alcohol coatings were prepared by the incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles. Polyvinyl alcohol is a naturally excellent barrier against oxygen, and the addition of ZnO particles at the nanoscale size has demonstrated effective UV blocking capabilities. In this work, the hydrothermal technique is used to produce ZnO nanoparticles, and these produced particles are then incorporated into the polyvinyl alcohol to produce thin films. These films are characterized in terms of the compositional, macroscopic, microscopic, and optical properties via X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), as well as UV&ndash;VIS spectroscopy. ZnO nanoparticles at different concentrations were incorporated into the PVA solution, and the films were processed via the blade coating method. With the addition of ZnO, the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of pure PVA was not altered and remained stable, and the lowest OTR was recorded as 0.65 cm3/m2&middot;day&middot;bar. Furthermore, the addition of ZnO increased the water contact angle (WCA) of PVA, and the highest WCA was recorded to be around more than 70&deg;. Due to this, water permeability decreased. Additionally, PVA/ZnO films were highly flexible and bendable and maintained the OTR even after going through bending cycles of 20K. Furthermore, the addition of ZnO showed a significant UV blocking effect and blocked the rays below a wavelength of 380 nm. Finally, the optimized films were used for packaging applications, and it was observed that the packaged apple remained fresh and unoxidized for a longer period as compared with the piece of apple without packaging. Thus, based on these results, the PVA/ZnO films are ideally suited for packaging purposes and can effectively enhance the shelf life of food

Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Packaging Films Based on Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Glass Flakes

The majority of food packaging materials are petroleum-based polymers, which are neither easily recyclable nor ecologically friendly. Packaging films should preferably be transparent, light in weight, and easy to process, as well as mechanically flexible, and they should meet the criteria for food encapsulation. In this study, poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based films were developed by incorporating glass flakes into the films. The selection of PVA was based on its well-known biodegradability, whereas the selection of glass flakes was based on their natural impermeability to oxygen and moisture. The films were processed using the blade coating method and were characterized in terms of transparency, oxygen transmission rate, mechanical strength, and flexibility. We observed that the incorporation of glass flakes into the PVA matrix did not significantly change the transparency of the PVA films, and they exhibited a total transmittance of around 87% (at 550 nm). When the glass flakes were added to the PVA, a significant reduction in moisture permeation was observed. This reduction was also supported and proven by Bhardwaj&rsquo;s permeability model. In addition, even after the addition of glass flakes to the PVA, the films remained flexible and showed no degradation in terms of the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), even after bending cycles of 23,000. The PVA film with glass flakes had decent tensile characteristics, i.e., around &gt;50 MPa. Increasing the concentration of glass flakes also increased the hardness of the films. Finally, a piece of bread was packaged in a well-characterized composite film. We observed that the bread packaged in the PVA film with glass flakes did not show any degradation at all, even after 10 days, whereas the bread piece packaged in a commercial polyethylene bag degraded completely. Based on these results, the developed packaging films are the perfect solution to replace commercial non-biodegradable films

Magnetic Hyperthermia and Antibacterial Response of CuCo2O4 Nanoparticles Synthesized through Laser Ablation of Bulk Alloy

The wide variety of uses for nanoparticles (NPs) is due to their unique combination of features in a single assembly. The arc melted copper-cobalt ingot sample were qualitatively studied using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Later, using the fabricated alloy as a target material for Nd:YAG laser ablation, CuCo2O4 NPs were synthesized. The magnetic properties of the synthesized NPs were studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). To determine the composition and morphology of the synthesized NPs, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques were used. The TEM and DLS showed that particles were spherical in shape with an average size of 32 nm and 28 nm, respectively. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized NPs was studied against S. aureus and E. coli strains as positive and negative controls using a standard approach. CuCo2O4 nanoparticles exhibited non-mutagenic potential against S. typhimurium TA-98 and TA-100 strains. Furthermore, the magnetic hyperthermia study of CuCo2O4 nanofluid was examined using a lab-made apparatus. The specific absorption rates (SAR) of 4.57 and 5.17 W/g were determined for the magnetic field strength of 230 μT and 247 μT, respectively. The study shows antibacterial activity and magnetic hyperthermia potential of the synthesized nanoparticles.</jats:p

Effective Removal of Methylene Blue by Surface Alteration of TiO2 with Ficus Carica Leaf Extract under Visible Light

The present study describes the use of a leaf extract from Ficus carica as a source of natural antioxidants for the surface alteration of bulk titanium dioxide (TiO2) in two steps. First, the hydro-thermal treatment of the bulk TiO2 material was carried out and followed by thermal annealing at 300 &deg;C for 3 h in air. The role of the leaf extract of Ficus carica on the performance of the bulk TiO2 material for the removal of methylene blue (MB) was also studied. Various analytical techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used to explore the crystalline structure, morphology, and composition. The bulk TiO2 material after the leaf-extract treatment exhibited mixed anatase and rutile phases, a flower-like morphology, and Ti, O, and C were its main elements. The average crystallite size was also calculated, and the obtained values for the bulk TiO2 material, 18.11 nm, and the treated bulk TiO2 material with various amounts, 5, 10, and 15 mL, of leaf extract were 16.4, 13.16, and 10.29 nm respectively. Moreover, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy validated the typical metal&ndash;oxygen bonds and strengthened the XRD results. The bulk TiO2 material chemically treated with Ficus carica has shown outstanding activity towards the degradation of MB under sunlight. The 15 mL of Ficus carica extract significantly enhanced the photocatalytic activity of the bulk TiO2 material towards the degradation of MB. The dye degradation efficiency was found to be 98.8%, which was experimentally proven by the Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopoyy (FTIR) analysis. The obtained performance of the bulk TiO2 material with Ficus carica revealed excellent surface modifying properties for poorly-performing photocatalysts towards the degradation of synthetic dyes when used in their pristine form. The presented approach suggests that Ficus carica could be of great interest for tuning the surface properties of materials, either in the form of nano-size or bulk-phase in a particular application