Recent progress in tannin and lignin blended metal oxides and metal sulfides as smart materials for electrochemical sensor applications.

Our technologically advanced civilization has made sensors an essential component. They have potential uses in the pharmaceutical sector, clinical analysis, food quality control, environmental monitoring, and other areas. One of the most active fields of analytical chemistry research is the fabrication of electrochemical sensors. An intriguing area of electroanalytical chemistry is the modification of electrodes using polymeric films. Due to their benefits, which include high adhesion to the electrode surface, chemical stability of the coating, superior selectivity, sensitivity, and homogeneity in electrochemical deposition, polymer-modified electrodes have attracted a great deal of interest in the electroanalytical sector. Conducting polymers are an important material for sensing devices because of their fascinating features, which include high mechanical flexibility, electrical conductivity, and the capacity to be electrochemically converted between electronically insulating and conducting states. Tannin or lignin nanomaterials can be an inter-linker leading to flexible and functional polymeric networks. There is a continuing demand for fast and simple analytical methods for the determination of many clinically important biomarkers, food additives, environmental pollutants etc. This review in a comprehensive way summarizes and discusses the various metal oxide and sulfide-incorporated tannin and lignin scaffolds using electrochemical sensing and biosensing.

Understanding Dietary Diversity, Dietary Practices and Changes in Food Patterns in Marginalised Societies in Sri Lanka.

Micronutrient malnutrition is a serious public health problem in developing countries, including Sri Lanka. Most frequently, micronutrient malnutrition is experienced by the poorest households due to cereal-based, monotonous diets that lack dietary diversity. Sri Lankan traditional food system is changing day by day. In parallel, nutrition deficiencies, malnutrition, and noncommunicable diseases are the most significant problems today in Sri Lanka. Therefore, understanding dietary diversity and dietary changes in Sri Lanka must be studied to address related public health issues. This study investigates nutrition adequacy, dietary diversity, dietary practice, and traditional food pattern changes in different marginalised areas in Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional survey was done using 24 h food recall and an administrative questionnaire for 400 women of reproductive age (WRA) (18-49 years old) in marginalised areas in Sri Lanka. The random sampling method was used for data collection. The research confirmed that different areas had poor dietary practices, with macronutrient imbalance and alarmingly low intakes of micronutrients. Interestingly, the diversity of food was higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Approximately 83% of women in urban areas did not meet minimum dietary diversity (MDD-W). Overall, about 63% of reproductive age women did not meet MDD-W and food security. The mean MDD-W for both areas was low. Significant differences in MDD-W levels were found in the two areas (F = 90.483, p < 0.05). The sample showed a significant positive correlation between MDD-W and area, monthly income, educational level, food source, BMI level and health status (R2 = 360; p < 0.01). This sample did not find that the consumption of traditional varieties of foods and agrobiodiversity are decreasing. Additionally, the study confirmed that low dietary diversity impacts nutrition status and health. The results highlight that the leading causes for low diet diversity are decreased dependence on own production, increased purchasing food at markets, lack of suitable lands to cultivate, agro-commercialisation, less knowledge of food and nutrition, loss of traditional food culture, low income and high prices of food. Inappropriate food patterns, nutrition policies and governance in Sri Lanka are the main factors to the nutrition findings. The study finding will help the decision-making authorities or policymakers to design suitable nutrition programs for vulnerable people in marginalised areas and to use these to strengthen a sustainable food and nutrition system in Sri Lanka.

Food and Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Reproductive-Age Women in Marginalized Areas in Sri Lanka.

Nutrient deficiencies are a public health problem in Sri Lanka. Achieving food security is a major challenge due to unhealthy eating patterns. The nutritional status of a woman and her knowledge is a powerful indicator of the nutritional security of her children and household food security. Nutrition-related knowledge and attitude are necessary for dietary changes towards a healthier dietary pattern. For that reason, food and nutrition-related Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) is one of the key factors to achieving household food and nutritional security. The main objective of this study is to assess the food and nutrition-related KAP among reproductive-age women and understanding of household food and nutritional security in Sri Lanka as an example for marginalized societies. Thus, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using the KAP model questionnaire administered on 400 reproductive age women (18-49 Years) in marginalized areas in Sri Lanka. Data were collected using a random sampling method. The research results clearly showed that the reproductive age women have a low level of nutritional knowledge in the areas being investigated. Most women have a positive attitude towards receiving nutritional knowledge but have low-level practice about a healthy diet. Furthermore, knowledge, practices, and attitudes of women largely affect their BMI status, as well as household food security. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the influential factors. There was a highly significant positive correlation between nutritional knowledge, attitude score, and BMI level and a significant difference was found in the area, age, family size, monthly income, educational level, attitudes towards nutrition, food and nutrition practices across the reproductive women (R2:467, p < 0.01). The research results showed that KAP largely determines women's nutrition and household food security. Based on the results of this research, there is a need to enhance nutritional education in reproductive-age women in marginalized areas in Sri Lanka.

Nutrition Transition and Traditional Food Cultural Changes in Sri Lanka during Colonization and Post-Colonization.

Sri Lanka was a colony of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. The simplification of Sri Lankan food culture can be seen most clearly today, including how the diet has been changed in the last 400 years since the colonial occupation began. Therefore, greater efforts must be made to uncover the colonial forces that have undermined food security and health in Sri Lanka. Also traditional eating habits, which are associated with countless health benefits, have been gradually replaced by the globalized food system of multinational corporations and hidden hunger, a system inherent in the emergence of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, cholesterol, and kidney disease epidemics, in Sri Lanka. This article discusses factors that have underpinned the dietary change in Sri Lanka from its early colonization to the post-colonization period. The research followed the integrated concept in ethnological and sociological study approaches. The study examined literature and conducted several interviews with field experts and senior people in marginal areas in Sri Lanka. This study examines the Sri Lankan traditional food system and how it changed after the colonial period, including the main changes and their impact on current micronutrient deficiencies and non-communicable diseases.

Intended intramuscular gluteal injections: are they truly intramuscular?

CONTEXT: In patients with obesity, intramuscular injections may be deposited subcutaneously due to an increase in gluteal fat. We aimed to use abdominal CT done in our institute for gluteal fat thickness to test our hypothesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After IRB approval, CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis of the past 6 months were analyzed. The thickness of gluteal region subcutaneous fat was measured in a standardized manner. RESULTS: Out of 700 CT scans, studied, 476 were males and 224 were females. The average gluteal fat thickness was 2.34 cm +/- 1 cm. The average fat thickness in males was 1.98 cm +/- 0.98 cm whereas in females was 3.0 cm +/- 1.2 cm. Subcutaneous granulomas were seen in 17 cases and one injection granuloma in the intramuscular plane. CONCLUSION: A significant number of female patients had increased gluteal fat thickness beyond the reach of routinely used needles. The medications in these patients will thus be unintentionally injected to subcutaneous plane, possibly altering the pharmacokinetics.