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Direct or type A CCFs are the direct connection between the cavernous segment of the internal carotid artery and the cavernous sinus. While most direct CCFs are caused by trauma, spontaneous direct CCFs are extremely rare in infants. In this report, we describe a 6-month-old child with bulges in the right eye that had been present since 20 days after birth. On examination, there was a right eye abduction limitation with no deviation associated with proptosis. Bruit was present during auscultation. CEMRI showed an enlarged right cavernous sinus with dilatation of the superior ophthalmic vein, suggesting a carotid-cavernous fistula. The patient was referred to an advanced center where he was advised patch therapy to prevent amblyopia. He was kept under observation by a neurosurgeon until 3 years, after which he was scheduled to undergo transarterial coiling., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2023 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

United Nations charter to build a sustainable future has paved the way for the introduction of the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) at a global forum. In particular, SDG 11 is aligned with the idea of developing cities and communities that provide quality human life, by attaining net-zero discharge and self-sustainability. In line with the efforts of the global community, biochar has emerged as a viable solution due to its ability to convert waste into value. Finding applications in a spectrum of domains, biochar is being studied for use as an adsorbent, a co-catalyst to promote industrial-grade reactions and as a feed for fuel cells. Moreover, the inclusion of biochar as a soil enhancement material advocates the implementation of closed-loop nutrient cycles. Hence, it is imperative to have a proper understanding of the biomass characteristics, the hydrothermal treatment and the process parameters to be adopted for the production of char in order to identify biomass feedstock based on the application. The current work provides insight into the key factors and conditions employed for the production of biochar based on the plethora of applications. In order build a basic framework to aid in the production of char, the development of a statistical correlation was undertaken to determine the feed and optimum process parameters for the production of biochar based on its applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

The effect of a novel nano-ceramic coating (TiO 2 ) using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique on the surface of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) material was investigated. The patients' and clinicians' perception and acceptance of the PMMA color with TiO 2 coating were also examined. In vitro color measurement was performed on thirty specimens (light, original, and dark pink) before and after TiO 2 coating. Patients' and clinicians' perception and acceptance of color changes on PMMA were measured and compared. Descriptive and analytic statistics were analyzed (a = 0.05). TiO 2 films were successfully deposited on the PMMA specimen by the ALD technique. Color changes after TiO 2 coating were observed on all three PMMA shades, significantly higher than the established 50:50% perceptibility threshold, but below the established 50:50% acceptability threshold. The percentage of patients that perceived a color difference after TiO 2 coating were 83.3%, 63.9%, and 77.8% for light, original, and dark pink, respectively. The percentages of clinicians that were satisfied with the color difference were 96.4%, 80%, and 69.2% for light, original, and dark pink, respectively. Color changes after TiO 2 coating were observed, but below the acceptable threshold. The clinical survey demonstrated that a color difference was perceived but was clinically acceptable. In general, laypeople have lower perception and higher acceptance of changes in PMMA color than clinicians.

Background Soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs) are a rare heterogeneous group of tumors. Good functional results can be achieved with tumor excision in combination with suitable supplemental adjuvant therapies if needed. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of wide resection of STS of the extremities. Methodology In this retrospective study, a total of 139 patients diagnosed with STS of the extremities by radiological and/or histopathological study/biopsy were included. All patients irrespective of metastasis were included. Results The mean age of the patients in our study was 43.5 ± 18.89 years. Overall, the mean tumor size was found to be 11.81 ± 6.218 cm. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma was the most common histology encountered (41%). Synovial sarcoma was the second most common histology encountered (14.38%). Recurrence was observed in 14 (10.1%) patients. The overall survival was 64.7% in our study. Conclusions The surgical margin achieved during the surgery is the most detrimental factor in local tumor control, and the overall survival of the patient after resection mainly depends on the stage of the tumor., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Sheoran et al.)

A high-resolution imaging system combining optical coherence tomography (OCT) and light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) was developed. LSFM confined the excitation to only the focal plane, removing the out of plane fluorescence. This enabled imaging a murine embryo with higher speed and specificity than traditional fluorescence microscopy. OCT gives information about the structure of the embryo from the same plane illuminated by LSFM. The co-planar OCT and LSFM instrument was capable of performing co-registered functional and structural imaging of mouse embryos simultaneously.

Purpose: To assess efficacy of intravenous (IV) ketorolac for postoperative pain control after external dacryocystorhinostomy., Method: Fifty-five patients from January to April 2019 were randomized, to a double-blind prospective interventional study. Intervention arm received IV ketorolac (60 mg/2 ml) immediately post-op, control received IV saline bolus. Pain assessment was done with numerical rating scale pre- and postinjection (day 0) and on day 1. Requirement for analgesics and antiemetics was recorded., Results: Total 55 patients (11 men and 44 women) with mean age 49.93 ± 16.29 years were included in the study. Twenty-four (43.6%) patients received IV ketorolac and 31 (56.4%) received placebo. Mann-Whitney U test showed mean rank score for pain scale was significantly lower in intervention arm versus control arm, assessed postinjection (16.69 vs. 36.76 respectively, p = .000) and at day 1 (21.08 vs. 33.35 respectively, p = .003)., Conclusion: IV ketorolac significantly lowers self-reported pain score following external dacryocystorhinostomy with reduced requirement of analgesic and antiemetic medications., (Copyright © 2020 The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Inc.)

Excitation of dye-loaded perfluorocarbon nanoparticles (nanobombs) can generate highly localized axially propagating longitudinal shear waves (LSW) that can be used to quantify tissue mechanical properties without transversal scanning of the imaging beam. In this study, we used repetitive excitations of dodecafluoropentane (C5) and tetradecafluorohexane (C6) nanobombs by a nanosecond-pulsed laser to produce multiple LSWs from a single spot in a phantom. A 1.5 MHz Fourier-domain mode-locked laser in combination with a phase correction algorithm was used to perform elastography. Multiple nanobomb activations were also monitored by detecting photoacoustic signals. Our results demonstrate that C6 nanobombs can be used for repetitive generation of LSW from a single spot for the purpose of material elasticity assessment. This study opens new avenues for continuous quantification of tissue mechanical properties using single delivery of the nanoparticles., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement.)

Here, we report an ' in situ ' co-precipitation reduction based synthetic methodology to prepare CuFe 2 O 4 nanoparticle-reduced graphene oxide (CuFe 2 O 4 -RGO) nanocomposites. First principles calculations based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) were performed to obtain the electronic structures and properties of CuFe 2 O 4 , graphene and CuFe 2 O 4 -graphene composites, and to understand the interfacial interaction between CuFe 2 O 4 and graphene in the composite. The synergistic effect, which resulted from the combination of the unique properties of RGO and CuFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles, was exploited to design a magnetically separable catalyst and high performance supercapacitor. It has been demonstrated that the incorporation of RGO in the composite enhanced its catalytic properties as well as supercapacitance performance compared with pure CuFe 2 O 4 . The nanocomposite with 96 wt% CuFe 2 O 4 and 4 wt% RGO (96CuFe 2 O 4 -4RGO) exhibited high catalytic efficiency towards (i) reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, and (ii) epoxidation of styrene to styrene oxide. For both of these reactions, the catalytic efficiency of 96CuFe 2 O 4 -4RGO was significantly higher than that of pure CuFe 2 O 4 . The easy magnetic separation of 96CuFe 2 O 4 -4RGO from the reaction mixture and good reusability of the recovered catalyst also showed here. 96CuFe 2 O 4 -4RGO also demonstrated better supercapacitance performance than pure CuFe 2 O 4 . 96CuFe 2 O 4 -4RGO showed specific capacitance of 797 F g -1 at a current density of 2 A g -1 , along with ∼92% retention for up to 2000 cycles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation on the catalytic properties of CuFe 2 O 4 -RGO towards the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and the epoxidation reaction, and DFT calculations on the CuFe 2 O 4 -graphene composite have been reported., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The majority of burn injuries in the pediatric population occur at home, and a significant proportion are the result of exposure to household cleaning products. A common injury-causing agent is bleach, which has the potential to release chlorine gas, a potent respiratory irritant that leads to the added risk of inhalation injury. The survival of pediatric patients with chemical burns is extremely high, and the 3 strongest predictors of mortality are large burn size, age <48 months, and the presence of inhalation injury. The authors present a rare case of a pediatric fatality from a chemical bleach burn that resulted in acute respiratory distress syndrome as well as hemodynamic and pulmonary instability that required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The authors critically appraised the management of this patient to determine the possible effect certain events had on the unexpected and poor outcome of this patient, including fluid resuscitation, the effect of the chemical inhalation injury, sedation, and the need for invasive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation life support.

Objective: To describe a series of children diagnosed with type I congenital laryngeal clefts (LC-I) and treated, due to various presentations, with endoscopic injection augmentation (IA)., Study Design: Case series with chart review., Setting: Tertiary care academic children's hospital in Edmonton, Canada., Subjects: All pediatric patients diagnosed with LC-I and treated with IA in a single tertiary care practice., Methods: The children were identified from a prospectively collected database. Only those who were treated with IA and had a minimum follow-up of 3 months were included. The authors collected demographics, diagnoses, surgical procedures, number of IA procedures, clinical outcomes, and complications., Results: Over a period of 8 years, 43 patients were diagnosed with LC-I. Eighteen had undergone IA over the past 4 years. Mean age at IA was 37.11 ± 32.68 months with a male-to-female ratio of 1.25:1. The indications were swallowing dysfunction (13), atypical croup (2), chronic cough (1), cyanotic spells (1), and asthma (1). Seven patients required repeated injections (mean, 2.57 injections). A total of 13 patients responded with resolution of symptoms in question. A single postoperative complication was recorded., Conclusion: IA is a brief, simple management option that succeeds in a number of children with LC-I. It is minimally morbid and supplements other conservative approaches to treat the condition.