High efficiency lipid production, biochar yield and chlorophyll a content of Chlorella sp. microalgae exposed on sea water and TiO2 nanoparticles.

This study explores the challenges facing microalgae biofuel production, specifically low lipid content and difficulties with algal cell harvesting. The purpose of the research is to investigate the effect of seawater content and nanoparticle concentration on freshwater microalgae growth and biofuel production. The principal results of the study show that increasing the proportion of seawater and nanoparticles enhances the lipid content and cell diameter of microalgae, while excessive concentrations of nanoparticles and low seawater content lead to reduced microalgae growth. Furthermore, an optimal cell diameter was identified at a nanoparticle concentration of 150 mg/L. The study also reveals that increasing seawater content can decrease zeta potential and increase chlorophyll a content due to the concentration of dissolved organic matter. Increasing the seawater content from 0% to 25% decreased zeta potential by 1% owing to the instability and aggregation of the cells. Chlorophyll a for the 0% seawater was 0.55 which is increased to 1.32 only due to the increase in the seawater content. This significant increase is due to the concentration of dissolved organic matter in seawater. Additionally, the presence of seawater positively affects microalgae metabolic activity and biochar yield. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the potential for optimizing microalgae biofuel production. The use of seawater and nanoparticles has shown promise in enhancing microalgae growth and biofuel yield, and the results of this study underscore the scientific value of exploring the role of seawater and nanoparticles in microalgae biofuel production. Further research in this area has the potential to significantly contribute to the development of sustainable energy solutions.

Eco-innovations and sustainability in solid waste management: An indian upfront in technological, organizational, start-ups and financial framework.

Technological interventions and eco-innovative solutions are necessary to cope with the adverse environmental impacts of waste accumulation. The notion to consider "waste as a resource and recycling of the same for getting the value of the waste" has truly transformed the approach towards solid waste management (SWM). Technological eco-innovations rely on the automation of waste segregation, collection, route optimization, digital apps for creating communication (enhanced efficiency by 40-85%) and treatment technologies. The regulatory framework with amendments in rules, new policies, schemes, smart city missions are responsible for the implementation of "Tech-innovations" at the ground level and has shown societal benefits. India has significantly shown progress in sustainable development goals (SDGs) score from 50.93 to 60.23 (year 2000-2019). The innovative and sustainable waste management practices in India have increased contribution to renewable energy (approx. 2554 MW/annum), 15-billion-USD business opportunity by the circular economy, 25-30% resale profit from processed E-waste, increased co-operative collaborations, trailblazing start-ups, improved SDG 3,7,8,9,11,12,13, improved market for green products and services, brilliant institutional and regional innovations addressing the issue of climate change. The present article critically reviews the exemplary eco-innovations (technological and non-technological) including resource recovery and viable technologies for SWM in India. The review also illustrates the lacunae (in awareness, bioproducts adoption and advanced technologies), recommendations based on findings and future research areas. The paper can also assist researchers, entrepreneurs and the policy makers for improving the status of SWM in India as well as other developing countries with the same societal and economic status.

Long-term outcomes in children with Hirschsprung's disease and transition zone bowel pull-through: impact of surgical techniques and role for conservative approach.

PURPOSE: Presence of transition zone (TZ) in the pulled colon can impact the outcome of surgery in children with Hirschsprung's disease. There is a wide variation in terminology used to define TZ and its management. We present our series of managing 11 such children with considerations for conservative management. METHODS: Eleven of 114 children operated for Hirschsprung's disease had features of TZ on the 4-quadrant doughnut assessment of proximal anastomosing margin. They were followed up for development of obstructive symptoms, failure of pull-through procedure or bowel-related complications. Intervention done were observation with laxatives, dilatation, Botox injection and redo pull-through. RESULTS: Of the 11 children, 6 underwent Duhamel's procedure and 5, transanal endorectal pull-through (TERP). Features identified on HPE were presence of hypertrophic nerve bundles involving 2 or 3 quadrants in the circumferential doughnut biopsy of proximal anastomosing margin. Observed symptoms included constipation, enterocolitis, increased bowel frequency and soiling. Intervention done were use of laxatives with bowel management program in six and Botox injections in four. Only one child with TZ in 3 quadrants required redo surgery. Mean follow-up was 5.2 years with resolution of symptoms in most. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the role of conservative management with good outcomes in children with TZ bowel pull-through having hypertrophic nerve fibers and normal ganglion pattern. Children who underwent Duhamel's procedure had little impact with the presence of TZ at anastomotic margin and majority of those undergoing TERP benefitted from Botox injection. Conservative management can be attempted successfully to prevent redo surgical interventions as they can lead to poorer outcomes. Only those children not responding to conservative measures need to be planned for revision surgery.

Hydrodynamic cavitation using vortex diode: An efficient approach for elimination of pathogenic bacteria from water.

The present study successfully demonstrates greener methodology of hydrodynamic cavitation using rotational flows for disinfection of water. Disinfection of two model microbial strains-gram- negative (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) using vortex diode was evaluated. The removal efficacy was quantified for two different cavitation reactors. Practically complete elimination of E. coli was achieved (99%) after 1 h of cavitation at a pressure drop of only 0.5 bar. However, elimination of S. aureus using vortex diode was observed to be lower in comparison to the removal of E. coli and only 60% disinfection could be achieved under similar conditions, which can be subsequently enhanced up to 98% by increasing pressure drop. The results were compared with another cavitating device that employs linear flow for cavitation, orifice. The reactor geometry has significant impact on the disinfection process and orifice was found to require significantly higher pressure drop (10 bar) conditions for disinfection and for eliminating gram-positive bacteria with high efficiency. A plausible mechanism for disinfection was proposed to elucidate the role of cavitation in cell destruction leading to death of cells through the rupture of cell wall, oxidative damage and possible DNA denaturation. Also, a cavitation model using per pass disinfection was developed that can provide meaningful physical description of the disinfection process as against the conventional first order reaction rate model. This study would provide meaningful insight into cavitation process based on hydrodynamic cavitation for the destruction of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria from various water sources, including industrial wastewaters.

Urethral Duplication in Children: Experience of Twenty Cases.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Urethral duplication is a rare congenital anomaly having multiple anatomical variants and varied presentations. Multiple surgical techniques have been described for this anomaly, and no surgical technique is ideal. The aim of this study was to present our experience of twenty cases of urethral duplication in the management of this anomaly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospectively over a period of 10 years from 2006 to 2016, records of all urethral duplications were reviewed. All available records were evaluated for clinical presentation, imaging studies (micturating cystourethrogram, retrograde urethrogram, ultrasonography, and cystourethroscopy), and classified according to the Effmann's classification. The intraoperative details, outcome, and follow-up (including cystoscopy and contrast studies) were noted. RESULTS: There were 20 patients of urethral duplications. Age of patients ranged from 3 months to 9 years with a mean age of 4.6 years. The details of management, outcome, and follow-up were obtained. CONCLUSION: Management varies with the symptoms and the severity of the anomaly. Y-type urethral duplication is more complex and challenging and requires extensive urethral reconstruction. Combined use of the bladder and buccal mucosa for reconstruction gives better results than bladder mucosa alone.

Retrograde recanalization of a nonchronic total occlusion lesion.

The use of the retrograde approach to treat chronic total occlusion (CTO) has improved overall success rate in this lesion subgroup. Its use to treat complex non-CTO lesions unable to be revascularized by an antegrade approach has not been described. We report a case of the use of the retrograde approach to recanalize a non-CTO lesion under Impella support in a patient with critical stenosis and poor left ventricular function. The retrograde approach may be an alternate pathway in selected non-CTO lesions where the antegrade has been unsuccessful.

Clitoral Choristoma: A Rare Case Report.

Clitoral hypertrophy is usually seen as a congenital malformation, specifically during the stages of hormonal expressions in the disorders of sexual development. Acquired clitoral hypertrophy is a relatively rare condition. Clitoris can be the site of neoplastic lesions. Clitoral choristoma has not been reported so far in the literature.

Laparoscopic pyloromyotomy: Lessons learnt in our first 101 cases.

AIM: To analyze our experience with laparoscopic pyloromyotomy for infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis for the lessons that we learnt and to study the effect of learning curve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of case records of 101 infants who underwent laparoscopic pyloromyotomy over 6 years. The demographic characteristics, conversion rate, operative time, complications, time to first feed and post-operative hospital stay were noted. The above parameters were compared between our early cases (2007-2009) (n = 43) and the later cases (2010-2013) (n = 58). RESULTS: 89 male and 12 female babies ranging in age from 12 days to 4 months (mean: 43.4 days) were operated upon during this period. The babies ranged in weight from 1.8 to 4.7 kg (mean: 3.1 kg). Four cases were converted to open (3.9%): three due to mucosal perforations and one due to technical problem. The mean operative time was 45.7 minutes (49.7 minutes in the first 3 years and 43.0 minutes in the next 3 years). There were 10 complications-4 mucosal perforations, 5 inadequate pyloromyotomies and 1 omental prolapse through a port site. All the complications were effectively handled with minimum morbidity. In the first 3 years of our experience the conversion rate was 9.3%, mucosal perforations were 6.9% and re-do rate was 2.3% as compared to 0%, 1.7% and 6.9%, respectively, in the next 3 years. Mean time for starting feeds was 21.4 hours and mean post-operative hospital stay was 2.4 days. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic pyloromyotomy is a safe procedure with minimal morbidity and reasonable operative times. Conversion rates and operative times decrease as experience increases. Our rate of inadequate pyloromyotomy was rather high which we hope to decrease with further experience.

Dental Attrition and its Association With the Signs and Symptoms of TMJ Dysfunction and Radiographic Condylar Changes - An Observational Study.

To determine the level of dental attrition and its relation to signs of TMJ dysfunction adding to condylar alterations analyzed by conventional TMJ Tomography and to propose the correlation between dental attrition and signs of TMJ dysfunction and condylar changes. Patients for the study were selected from the regular outpatient Department of Oral Medicine, Diagnosis and Radiology, Rajah Muthiah Dental College and Hospital, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, with performed criteria. The radiographic examination of TMJ is performed by the PLANMECA OPG machine using the tomographic program. Statistical analysis was performed using a Chi-square test to determine the relation between attrition and temporomandidular disorders [TMD] signs and symptoms. The study group comprises 60 subjects who are having dental attrition, and they are divided into three groups according to their age: Group I, 20-40 age; Group II, 41-60 age; Group III, more than 60 age 80% of the samples had one or more tooth with significant attrition with grades of two or more on a 0-4 scale The prevalence of changes in condylar morphology was more in individuals above 40 yrs (33.33%) as compared to those below the age of 40 with a total prevalence of 41.67%. The most common symptom reported is tooth sensitivity, joint sounds, and muscle tenderness. The last reported are scalloped tongue, buccal mucosa ridging, referred pain, and limitation of mouth opening. Out of the 25 subjects who showed condylar changes, 10 subjects had symptoms of TMD. The symptoms reported are strain in the mouth opening, tenderness in jaw movements, and TMJ clicking sounds. Attrition is not a predictable sign of TMJ dysfunction, yet a finite association was defined between attrition and signs and symptoms of TMJ dysfunction. Studies involving larger samples compared with additional radiographic modalities are recommended.

Robotic Kidney Transplant Beyond the Learning Curve: 8-Year Single-center Experience and Matched Comparison With Open Kidney Transplant.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the medium to long-term outcomes of robotic-assisted kidney transplantation (RAKT) and propensity-matched comparison with open kidney transplant (OKT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 342 patients from database, who underwent RAKT and OKT from January 2015 to May 2022, at our center. Various demographic, intraoperative, and postoperative parameters were evaluated. Statistical analysis including propensity matching using nearest neighbor algorithm was performed to ensure comparability between the RAKT and OKT groups. The statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v.22.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY) and STATA 13 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX). All statistical tests were two-sided, and a significance level of P < .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: After applying exclusion criteria, 196 RAKT patients and 102 OKT patients were included in the analysis. Propensity score matching resulted in the inclusion of 173 patients in the RAKT group. In the propensity-matched comparison of intra/perioperative parameters, RAKT showed significant reductions in total surgical time (P < .001), wound length (P < .001), blood loss (P < .001), blood transfusion rate (P < .001), pain score (P < .001), and analgesia requirement (P < .001). Graft survival and patient survival rates were comparable in RAKT and OKT groups at the end of 60months. CONCLUSION: RAKT offers several advantages over OKT in terms of reduced operative time, blood loss, pain, and analgesia requirements. RAKT shows comparable graft and patient survival rates to OKT in the medium to long term.

Dynamic changes in heat transducing channel TRPV1 expression regulate mechanically insensitive, heat sensitive C-fiber recruitment after axotomy and regeneration.

Peripheral injury leads to a significant increase in the prevalence of mechanically insensitive, heat-sensitive C-fibers (CH) that contain the heat transducing TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid type I) channel in mice. We have recently shown that this recruitment of CH fibers is associated with increased expression of the receptor for GDNF (glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor) family neurotrophic factor artemin (GFRα3), and that in vivo inhibition of GFRα3 prevented the increase in TRPV1 expression normally observed following axotomy. Here we have directly tested the hypothesis that the recruitment of functional CH fibers following nerve regeneration requires enhanced TRPV1 levels. We used in vivo siRNA-mediated knockdown to inhibit the injury-induced expression of TRPV1 coupled with ex vivo recording to examine response characteristics and neurochemical phenotypes of different functionally defined cutaneous sensory neurons after regeneration. We confirmed that inhibition of TRPV1 did not affect the axotomy-induced decrease in polymodal C-fiber (CPM) heat threshold, but transiently prevented the recruitment of CH neurons. Moreover, a recovery of TRPV1 protein was observed following resolution of siRNA-mediated inhibition that was correlated with a concomitant rebound in CH neuron recruitment. Thus dynamic changes in TRPV1 expression, not absolute levels, may underlie the functional alterations observed in CH neurons and may contribute to the development of heat hyperalgesia after nerve injury.

Mediastinal hemangioma: Masquerading as pleural effusion.

We present a rare case of mediastinal hemangioma in a 4-year-old child. The child presented with cough and fever and the chest radiograph revealed right pleural effusion. On further work-up with chest computed tomography mediastinal cystic mass occupying the right hemithorax was identified. The cystic mass was resected completely through a right thoracotomy. Histopathological examination established the final diagnosis of mediastinal capillary hemangioma.

Design and Synthesis of Ketenimine Sulfonamide Conjugates through Multicomponent Reactions; A Combined Cytotoxic Analysis and Computational Exploration.

Multicomponent reactions involving zwitterion generated from dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, aryl sulfonamide, and isocyanide to generate sulfonamide-conjugated ketenimines is reported. The synthetic strategy adopted is highly atom economical and stereoselective. Ketenimine sulfonamide analogues are key intermediates for further synthetic conversions to generate a combinatorial library of compounds. Furthermore, sulfonamide compounds are known to possess a broad spectrum of biological applications. All the novel molecules synthesized exhibit the potential to target the nonhomologous DNA end-joining (NHEJ) pathway with cytotoxic ability. Computational studies compliment the in vitro biological assays of the 8 small-molecule inhibitors. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are considered as the most lethal among different DNA damages. NHEJ repairs about 70% of the DSBs generated in cells within mammals. The DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit is one of the PI3 kinases associated with NHEJ. Compounds DK01-DK08 were investigated for their ability to induce cancer cell death by treating with two leukemic cell lines where NHEJ is high. Results showed that bromoaryl (DK04)- and nitroaryl (DK05)-conjugated molecules showed excellent biological activity, having IC50 values of ∼2 µM in Nalm6 cell lines.

Correction to "Design and Synthesis of Ketenimine Sulfonamide Conjugates through Multicomponent Reactions; A Combined Cytotoxic Analysis and Computational Exploration".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c05816.].

Nonsurgical endodontic retreatment of a mandibular first molar with five canals: 1-year follow-up.

Mandibular first molars have highly variable root canal morphology. According to previous studies, the occurrence of middle mesial canals ranges from 1% to 15%. In this case, nonsurgical endodontic retreatment of a mandibular first molar with a middle mesial canal is attempted. The authors describe the diagnosis and clinical management of a mandibular first molar with three mesial root canals, drawing particular attention to radiographic interpretation and access refinements.

Phenotypic and genotypic detection of carbapenemase production among gram negative bacteria isolated from hospital acquired infections.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the carbapenemase producing Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) by phenotypic methods and to confirm the presence of resistant genes using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). METHODS: This was a prospective study carried out at the Department of Microbiology, Sri Venkata Sai Medical College and Hospital, Mahabubnagar, India, from March 2018-2021. All samples were screened for carbapenem resistance by disc diffusion method and the VITEK®2 compact system (bioMérieux, France). Detection of carbapenemase was carried out using RAPIDEC®CARBA NP test (Biomeriux Private Limited, South Delhi, India), screening for metallo-ß-lactamases (MBL) was carried out by double disk synergy test (DDST), and genotypic characterization by real-time PCR. RESULTS: Among the 1093 Gram-negative bacilli identified, 220 (17.0%) were resistant to carbapenems by both tested methods. Carbapenemase detection using the RAPIDEC®CARBA NP test indicated that 207 (94.0%) were carbapenemase producers, of which 189 (91.2%) were MBL producers. The most common carbapenemase genes identified were New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase (NDM; 47.3%), followed by the co-existence of genes in combination of NDM, with Verona integron-mediated metallo-ß-lactamase (VIM; 39.6%), VIM and oxacillin hydrolyzing enzymes-48 (OXA-48; 4.3%), and OXA-48 (1.4%).No gene of active on imipenem, Klebsiella pneumonia carbapenemase, VIM, or OXA-48 alone was detected. CONCLUSION: This study suggests routine carbapenem resistance testing among multi-drug resistant-GNBs, as most of these infections occur in hospitals. In addition, there is a possibility that these highly antibiotic-resistant genes could spread to other bacteria resulting in further dissemination.

Enhanced artemin/GFRα3 levels regulate mechanically insensitive, heat-sensitive C-fiber recruitment after axotomy and regeneration.

We have shown recently that following saphenous nerve transection and successful regeneration, cutaneous polymodal nociceptors (CPMs) lacking transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) are sensitized to heat stimuli and that mechanically insensitive, heat-sensitive C-fibers (CHs) that contain TRPV1 increase in prevalence. Target-derived neurotrophic factor levels were also enhanced after axotomy and regeneration. In particular, the glial-cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family member artemin was found to be significantly enhanced in the hairy hindpaw skin and its receptor GDNF family receptor α3 (GFRα3) was increased in the L2/L3 dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) following nerve injury. In this study, we assessed the role of enhanced artemin/GFRα3 levels on the changes in mouse cutaneous CH neurons following saphenous nerve regeneration. We used a newly developed siRNA-mediated in vivo knockdown strategy to specifically inhibit the injury-induced expression of GFRα3 and coupled this with an ex vivo recording preparation to examine response characteristics and neurochemical phenotype of different types of functionally defined neurons after injury. We found that inhibition of GFRα3 did not affect the axotomy-induced decrease in CPM threshold, but transiently prevented the recruitment of CH neurons. Western blot and real-time PCR analysis of hairy hindpaw skin and L2/L3 DRGs after saphenous nerve regeneration suggested that inhibition of the potential initial injury-induced increase in enhanced target-derived artemin signaling resulted in dynamic changes in TRPV1 expression after regeneration. These changes in TRPV1 expression may underlie the functional alterations observed in CH neurons after nerve regeneration.

Traffic noise prediction model of an Indian road: an increased scenario of vehicles and honking.

Noise is considered as an underrated and underemphasized pollutant in contrast to other pollutants of the environment. Due to the non-acute response of health effects, people are not vigilant towards consequences regarding noise pollution. The expansion of the transportation industry is contributing towards the increment in the public and private vehicular volume which causes an increment in noise pollution. For evaluation of respective scenario, the research study has been conducted on one of the minor roads of Nagpur, India; for 2 years, viz., 2012 and 2019. The study concludes an increment of 5-6 dB(A) in noise level, 4-6 times in honking, and 1.7 times in traffic volume. The study confirms increment in sound pressure by 65.9% and 81.9% for the year 2012 and 2019 during morning and evening sessions, respectively. Noise prediction model has also been developed for the abovementioned years, using multiple regression analysis, considering traffic volume, honking, and speed against noise equivalent level. Honking has been further characterized into honk by light and medium category vehicles as acoustical properties of horns vary with respect to category of vehicle and introduced into the noise prediction model. Noise prediction model for 2019 has predicted the noise level in a range of - 1.7 to + 1.4 dB (Leq) with 84% of observations in the range of - 1 to + 1 dB (Leq), when compared with observed Leq on the field. For proper management of noise pollution, a noise prediction model is essentially needed so that the noise level can be anticipated, and accordingly, measures can be outlined and executed. This increased noise level has serious impacts on human hearing capacity and overall health. Accordingly, noise mitigation preventive measures are recommended to control traffic noise in the urban environment.

Melanotic Neuroectodermal Tumor of Infancy: A Rare Case Report.

A rare case melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy occurring in 2-year-old girl affecting left maxilla is described. Computed tomography showed benign expansile type of lesion affecting left maxilla. The lesion was surgically excised completely. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of melanotic neuroectodermal tumor. Four months' follow-up showed no recurrence.