Necrotizing fasciitis of the breast in a breastfeeding mother: A case report.

Introduction: Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a rapidly progressive life-threatening infection involving necrosis of subcutaneous tissues and fascia. Though it mainly affects the extremities, perineum and abdominal wall, it rarely affects the breast.

Presentation Of Case: A 30-year-old woman on postpartum day seven presented with one-day history of fever with chills and rigors and painful, swollen and tender left breast.

Next-generation methods for precise pH detection in ocular chemical burns: a review of recent analytical advancements.

Ocular burns due to accidental chemical spillage pose an immediate threat, representing over 20% of emergency ocular traumas. Early detection of the ocular pH is imperative in managing ocular chemical burns. Alkaline chemical burns are more detrimental than acidic chemical burns.

Index based approach for assessment of abundance of marine debris and status of marine pollution in Kandakuliya, Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka.

Marine debris accumulation and contamination have become escalating yet disastrous environmental impacts in marine ecosystems at present Sri Lanka context. Thus, we conducted this study to assess the marine debris abundance and density in randomly selected sites (n = 6) of Kandakuliya beach, Negombo, Sri Lanka. Marine debris density was used to explore the extent of beach pollution from marine debris.

Human and environmental risk assessment and plausible sources of toxic heavy metals at beach placers in southeast Sri Lanka.

Beach placers are typically rich in heavy minerals, which are crucial for a wide range of industrial applications. This study investigates the human and environmental risks posed by toxic heavy metals (As, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Fe, V and Mn) in beach placers of southeastern Sri Lanka using 42 X-ray fluorescence data. Risk indicators (EF, I, CF and PLI) indicate the polluted nature of the placers.

Grain-size distribution dataset of lagoonal and riverine coastal placer deposits along the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka.

The dataset contains grain size data of placer and non-placer sediments in lagoonal and riverine beaches of southeastern part of Sri Lanka. A total of 124 swash sediment samples were collected from a 70 km long coastline with an interval of 500 m. Placer sediments in the area mainly have mineralogy of ilmenite, zircon and almandine while non-placers are quartz, albite and calcite.

Potential antifungal applications of heterometallic silica nanohybrids: A synergistic activity.

An estimated 1.7 million fatalities and 150 million cases worldwide are attributed to fungal infections annually, that are in rise due to immunocompromised patient population. The challenges posed by traditional treatments can be addressed with the help of nanotechnology advancements.

Preparation and characterization of Fe-ZnO cellulose-based nanofiber mats with self-sterilizing photocatalytic activity to enhance antibacterial applications under visible light.

Bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance have posed a severe threat to public health in recent years. One emerging and promising approach to this issue is the photocatalytic sterilization of nanohybrids. By utilizing ZnO photocatalytic sterilization, the drawbacks of conventional antibacterial treatments can be efficiently addressed.

Stoichiometrically optimized e orbital occupancy of Ni-Co oxide catalysts for Li-air batteries.

Li-air battery (LAB) technology is making continuous progress toward its theoretical capacity, which is comparable to gasoline. However, the sluggish reaction at the cathode is still a challenge. We propose a simple strategy to optimize the surface e occupancy by adjusting the stoichiometric ratios of transition metal-based spinel structures through a controlled hydrothermal synthesis.

Recent Progress in Droplet Structure Machining for Advanced Optics.

The development of optical and photonic applications using soft-matter droplets holds great scientific and application importance. The machining of droplet structures is expected to drive breakthroughs in advancing frontier applications. This review highlights recent advancements in micro-nanofabrication techniques for soft-matter droplets, encompassing microfluidics, laser injection, and microfluidic 3D printing.

Biofilm-forming ability, antibiotic resistance and phylogeny of Escherichia coli isolated from extra intestinal infections of humans, dogs, and chickens.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) causes various infections in humans and animals. The biofilm-forming ability of E.

Metal doped silica nanohybrids with extensive bacterial coverage for antibacterial applications exhibit synergistic activity.

Nanotechnology has triumphantly overcome several barriers that have formed in modern life. Bacterial infections are a critical public health issue. They emphasized the failure of conventional treatments, high mortality and morbidity rates, antibiotic resistance, and other factors leading to the development of novel and affordable antibacterial medications.

Multimodal Earable Sensing for Human Energy Expenditure Estimation.

Energy Expenditure Estimation (EEE) is vital for maintaining weight, managing chronic diseases, achieving fitness goals, and improving overall health and well-being. Gold standard measurements for energy expenditure are expensive and time-consuming, hence limiting utility and adoption. Prior work has used wearable sensors for EEE as a workaround.

From short to long term: Dynamic analysis of FDI and net export in global regions.

It is crucial to examine the impact between foreign direct investment (FDI) and net exports (NE) for unveiling international trade dynamics, and the economic development of different geographical regions. It yields sharp insights into how FDI inflows, driven by theories such as backward linkage, export platform, and knowledge transfer, enhance a host country's export capacity and contribute to economic growth. Moreover, studying the reciprocal linkages between FDI and NE helps recognise the aspects of domestic factors, such as productivity and the product life cycle, in attracting FDI and increasing export performance.

Enhancement of Release and Solubility of Curcumin from Electrospun PEO-EC-PVP Tripolymer-Based Nanofibers: A Study on the Effect of Hydrogenated Castor Oil.

This study reveals the state-of-the-art fabrication of a tripolymer-based electrospun nanofiber (NF) system to enhance the release, solubility, and transdermal penetration of curcumin (Cur) with the aid of in situ release of infused castor oil (Co). In this regard, Cur-loaded Co-infused polyethylene oxide (PEO), ethyl cellulose (EC), and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) tripolymer-based NF systems were developed to produce a hybridized transdermal skin patch. Weight percentages of 1-4% Cur and 3-10% of Co were blended with PEO-EC-PEO and PEO-EC-PVP polymer systems.

Reactogenicity to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in health care workers: A multicenter observational study in Sri Lanka.

Introduction: The acceptability of a vaccine is an important factor during mass vaccination programs and this is largely dependent on the symptoms of local and systemic reactogenicity. There is paucity of data on the systemic and local reactions experienced by COVD-19 vaccine recipients in South Asia.

Objectives: To identify the early local and systemic reactogenicity of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine.

Mechanochemical Synthesis of Polymorphic Urea ⋅ Adipic Acid Cocrystal as a Sustained-Release Nitrogen Source.

A 2 : 1 urea ⋅ adipic acid cocrystal was obtained in two polymorphic forms (Form I reported earlier, and Form II synthesized in this study) using mechanochemistry as well as solution crystallization. Lower solubility and leaching study showed the newly synthesized urea ⋅ adipic acid 2 : 1 cocrystal to be an efficient sustained-release nitrogen fertilizer compared to commercially available urea.

Nanomagnetite- and Nanotitania-Incorporated Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Simultaneous Cd(II)- and As(V)-Ion Removal Applications.

This work reports the fabrication of nanomagnetite- and nanotitania-incorporated polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (MTPANs) by an electrospinning process, which has the potential to be used as a membrane material for the selective removal of Cd(II) and As(V) in water. The fiber morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The incorporation of nanomagnetite and nanotitania in the composite fiber matrix was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.

An improved deep learning model for hierarchical classification of protein families.

Although genes carry information, proteins are the main role player in providing all the functionalities of a living organism. Massive amounts of different proteins involve in every function that occurs in a cell. These amino acid sequences can be hierarchically classified into a set of families and subfamilies depending on their evolutionary relatedness and similarities in their structure or function.

A Novel Green Approach to Synthesize Curcuminoid-Layered Double Hydroxide Nanohybrids: Adroit Biomaterials for Future Antimicrobial Applications.

Thermal instability, photodegradation, and poor bioavailability of natural active ingredients are major drawbacks in developing effective natural product-based antimicrobial formulations. These inherited issues could be fruitfully mitigated by the introduction of natural active ingredients into various nanostructures. This study focuses on the development of a novel green mechanochemical synthetic route to incorporate curcuminoids into Mg-Al-layered double hydroxides.

Nano-manganese oxide and reduced graphene oxide-incorporated polyacrylonitrile fiber mats as an electrode material for capacitive deionization (CDI) technology.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a trending water desalination method during which the impurity ions in water can be removed by electrosorption. In this study, nano-manganese dioxide (MnO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-doped polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite fibers are fabricated using an electrospinning technique. The incorporation of both MnO and rGO nanomaterials in the synthesized fibers was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

Polyaniline/palladium nanohybrids for moisture and hydrogen detection.

Palladium nanoparticles display fascinating electronic, optical and catalytic properties, thus they can be used for various applications such as sensor fabrication. Conducting polymers such as polyaniline have also been widely used in sensor technology due to its cost effectiveness, versatility, and ease of synthesis. In this research, attention was given to unify the exceptional properties of these two materials and construct palladium nanoparticle coated polyaniline films to detect hydrogen and moisture.

Effect of Citric Acid Surface Modification on Solubility of Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles.

Worldwide, there is an amplified interest in nanotechnology-based approaches to develop efficient nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers to address major challenges pertaining to food security. However, there are significant challenges associated with fertilizer manufacture and supply as well as cost in both economic and environmental terms. The main issues relating to nitrogen fertilizer surround the use of fossil fuels in its production and the emission of greenhouse gases resulting from its use in agriculture; phosphorus being a mineral source makes it nonrenewable and casts a shadow on its sustainable use in agriculture.

Rice bran nanofiber composites for stabilization of phytase.

This study explores the potential application of rice bran (agro waste) to nano-encapsulate phytase, which is a thermally unstable biologically active enzyme. Rice bran was converted to nanofibers (20-50 nm in diameter) using electrospinning. After optimizing the pH, viscosity, voltage and the distance between electrodes for electrospinning, phytase enzyme was encapsulated and the fibers were cross-linked using sodium tripolyphosphate.

An authentic record of (Gray, 1838) (Reptilia: Scincidae) from Sri Lanka.

Among the eight species of Eutropis Fitzinger currently known from Sri Lanka, Eutropis bibronii (Gray, 1838) is among the least known. Hence, the occurrence of this species in Sri Lanka has been doubted by some authors since there were no confirmed records from live specimens for the past 70 years. The species has been previously reported mostly from northern regions of Sri Lanka.

Urea-Hydroxyapatite Nanohybrids for Slow Release of Nitrogen.

While slow release of chemicals has been widely applied for drug delivery, little work has been done on using this general nanotechnology-based principle for delivering nutrients to crops. In developing countries, the cost of fertilizers can be significant and is often the limiting factor for food supply. Thus, it is important to develop technologies that minimize the cost of fertilizers through efficient and targeted delivery.