Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is a systemic autoimmune condition with myopathy. Gastrointestinal and pulmonary manifestations are rare presentation of JDM. Gastrointestinal perforation incidence in JDM is associated with vasculopathy and ischaemia. There are only few reported case of management of JDM with gastrointestinal complication. Management of such condition is challenging. We present a 21-year-old man with spontaneous descending colon perforation undergoing Hartmann's procedure. He subsequently presented with recurrent retroperitoneal abscess at five and 30 months following the initial presentation which was treated with percutaneous drainage. A high index of suspicion is necessary in JDM patients presenting with acute abdomen.
Three cases of myelosclerosis associated with systemic lupus erythematosus are described. The probable role of systemic lupus erythematosus in the initiation of myelonecrosis and subsequent myelosclerosis is discussed.
Using solar-powered water electrolysis systems for hydrogen generation is a key decision for the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy. A facile approach is presented in the present investigation to improve the solar-powered photoelectrochemical performance of water electrolysis systems by synthesising well-aligned and highly ordered TiO₂ nanotube films without bundling through the electrochemical anodisation technique. Herein, geometrical calculations were conducted for all synthesised TiO₂ nanotubes, and determination of the aspect ratio (AR) and geometric surface area factor (G) was achieved. On the basis of the collected data, well-aligned TiO₂ nanotubes with an AR of approximately 60 and G of approximately 400 m² ·g-1 were successfully formed in an electrolyte mixture of ethylene glycol with 0.3 wt% NH4F and 5 wt% H₂O₂ at 40 V for 60 min. The nanotubes were subsequently annealed at 400 °C to form anatase-phase TiO₂ nanotube films. The resultant well-aligned and highly ordered TiO₂ nanotube films exhibited a photocurrent density of 1.5 mA · cm-2 due to a large number of photo-induced electrons moving along the tube axis and perpendicular to the Ti substrate, which greatly reduces interfacial recombination losses.
Giant splenic cyst is rare disorder affecting the spleen. As the occurrence is so in-frequent that the diagnosis preoperatively remains a challenge. We report a 12-year-old boy who presented to Sarawak General Hospital, Malaysia with left upper abdominal pain initially mistaken as a complex left liver cyst. He underwent surgery which turned out to be a giant splenic cyst and underwent laparotomy and total splenectomy. He was discharged well and remains asymptomatic after 6 months postoperative follow up.
Five patients illustrate various aspects of obstetrical defibrination in West Malaysia, resulting from exaggeration of changes in fibrinolytic-coagulation equilibrium that occur at delivery. Hypofibrinogenaemia and fibrinolysis may occur in association or either feature predominate. These patients are from a population in which a variety of genetic and environmental factors may interact, e.g. abnormal haemoglobins, cold agglutinins, viral and other infections, introducing additional complications.
Efficient solar driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) response by enhancing charge separation has attracted great interest in the hydrogen generation application. The formation of one-dimensional ZnO nanorod structure without bundling is essential for high efficiency in PEC response. In this present research work, ZnO nanorod with an average 500 nm in length and average diameter of about 75 nm was successfully formed via electrodeposition method in 0.05 mM ZnCl₂ and 0.1 M KCl electrolyte at 1 V for 60 min under 70 °C condition. Continuous efforts have been exerted to further improve the solar driven PEC response by incorporating an optimum content of TiO₂ into ZnO nanorod using dip-coating technique. It was found that 0.25 at % of TiO₂ loaded on ZnO nanorod film demonstrated a maximum photocurrent density of 19.78 mA/cm² (with V vs. Ag/AgCl) under UV illumination and 14.75 mA/cm² (with V vs. Ag/AgCl) under solar illumination with photoconversion efficiency ~2.9% (UV illumination) and ~4.3% (solar illumination). This performance was approximately 3-4 times higher than ZnO film itself. An enhancement of photocurrent density and photoconversion efficiency occurred due to the sufficient Ti element within TiO₂-ZnO nanorod film, which acted as an effective mediator to trap the photo-induced electrons and minimize the recombination of charge carriers. Besides, phenomenon of charge-separation effect at type-II band alignment of Zn and Ti could further enhance the charge carrier transportation during illumination.
Wastewater generated from industries seriously impacts the environment. Conventional biological and physiochemical treatment methods for wastewater containing organic molecules have some limitations. Therefore, identifying other alternative methods or processes that are more suitable to degrade organic molecules and lower chemical oxygen demand (COD) in wastewater is necessary. Heterogeneous Fenton processes and persulfate (PS) oxidation are advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) that degrade organic pollutants via reactive radical species. Therefore, in this study, limonite powder was incorporated into porous regenerated chitosan fibers and further used as a heterogeneous catalyst to decompose methylene blue (MB) via sulfate radical-based AOPs. Limonite was used as a heterogeneous catalyst in this process to generate the persulfate radicals (SO4-·) that initiate the decolorization process. Limonite-chitosan fibers were produced to effectively recover the limonite powder so that the catalyst can be reused repeatedly. The formation of limonite-chitosan fibers viewed under a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) showed that the limonite powder was well distributed in both the surface and cross-section area. The effectiveness of limonite-chitosan fibers as a catalyst under PS activation achieved an MB decolorization of 78% after 14 min. The stability and reusability of chitosan-limonite fibers were evaluated and measured in cycles 1 to 10 under optimal conditions. After 10 cycles of repeated use, the limonite-chitosan fiber maintained its performance up to 86%, revealing that limonite-containing chitosan fibers are a promising reusable catalyst material.
Wearable energy storage devices require high mechanical stability and high-capacitance flexible electrodes. In this study, we design a flexible supercapacitor electrode consisting of 1-dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNT), cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), and manganese dioxide nanowires (MnO2 NWs). The flexible and conductive CNT/CNF-MnO2 NWs suspension was first prepared via ultrasonic dispersion approach, followed by vacuum filtration and hot press to form the composite paper electrode. The morphological studies show entanglement between CNT and CNF, which supports the mechanical properties of the composite. The CNT/CNF-MnO2 NWs electrode exhibits lower resistance when subjected to various bending angles (-120-+120°) compared to the CNT/CNF electrode. In addition, the solid-state supercapacitor also shows a high energy density of 38 μWh cm-2 and capacitance retention of 83.2% after 5000 cycles.
Abdominal pain is one of the most common presenting complaints encountered in the pediatric emergency department. The use of point-of-care ultrasonography by emergency physicians has been shown to expedite the diagnosis of a large variety of conditions and can be used to accurately identify intra-abdominal pathology in children. We describe the case of a pediatric patient who presented to the pediatric emergency department with acute abdominal pain, in whom point-of-care ultrasonography helped expedite the diagnosis of acute portal vein thrombosis and liver abscess.
Plants have been used for multiple purposes over thousands of years in various applications such as traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. More recently, the special properties of phytochemicals within plant extracts have spurred researchers to pursue interdisciplinary studies uniting nanotechnology and biotechnology. Plant-mediated green synthesis of nanomaterials utilises the phytochemicals in plant extracts to produce nanomaterials. Previous publications have demonstrated that diverse types of nanomaterials can be produced from extracts of numerous plant components. This review aims to cover in detail the use of plant extracts to produce copper (Cu)-based nanomaterials, along with their robust applications. The working principles of plant-mediated Cu-based nanomaterials in biomedical and environmental applications are also addressed. In addition, it discusses potential biotechnological solutions and new applications and research directions concerning plant-mediated Cu-based nanomaterials that are yet to be discovered so as to realise the full potential of the plant-mediated green synthesis of nanomaterials in industrial-scale production and wider applications. This review provides readers with comprehensive information, guidance, and future research directions concerning: (1) plant extraction, (2) plant-mediated synthesis of Cu-based nanomaterials, (3) the applications of plant-mediated Cu-based nanomaterials in biomedical and environmental remediation, and (4) future research directions in this area.