Biomarkers of liver diseases.

The liver is one of the pivotal organs in the human body and is fundamentally responsible for detoxification and metabolism. Various disorders such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, fibrosis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and hepatitis are associated with improper functions of the liver. Hence, biomarkers are needed to determine the severity. Further, many liver enzymes, including the cascade of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), and total bilirubin (TBIL), are conventional liver biomarkers. They are not, however, unique to the liver; hence, efforts are being made to identify the precise biomarkers for liver illness that can target liver diseases. HMGB1, cytokeratin 18 (K18), glutathione-S-transferase-α (GST-α), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and microRNAs (miRNA) are a few examples of developing biomarkers used to detect many liver diseases. Hence, the review has highlighted various novel biomarkers of the liver so that various pathophysiological pathways and treatments can be made easier.

Online medical teaching during COVID-19: Perspectives from teachers and taught.

BACKGROUND: Online teaching has been practiced after lockdown due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which has replaced conventional classroom teaching. The aim of the present study was to know the perceptions regarding online learning as perceived by both teachers and students during COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was cross-sectional and questionnaire-based. Web-based respondent-driven sampling technique was used to recruit participants for the present study. Three hundred and thirty-two students and 130 teachers of varying ages and gender participated in the study. The link of web-based questionnaire was sent to respondents through WhatsApp/Facebook. Responses from all the participants were tabulated and analyzed using univariate analysis (Chi-square test). RESULTS: Prerecorded lectures (38.9%) and Webinar apps (35/8%) were the most common modules of online teaching by students. One-third (34.3%) had the convenience to attend lectures from home whereas 44.3% had difficulty in concentration. Commonly cited disadvantage by students was inability to do practical work (37.9%). Regarding teaching faculty, 43.8% had no prior knowledge of online teaching. Sixty percent of teachers had 4 h/week of online teaching. No face-to-face interaction (67.7%) and internet issues (26.9%) were commonly stated barriers by faculty. CONCLUSION: The pandemic has pushed the teachers and students toward newer teaching avenues. However, more needs to be done to supplement the existent teaching pattern and preparedness of teaching faculty by incorporating online assignments and assessment methods, strengthening digital infrastructure in medical schools, and training support for teachers.

Potential use of waste foundry sand in dual process (photocatalysis and photo-Fenton) for the effective removal of phenazone from water: Slurry and fixed-bed approach.

In this study, degradation of a pharmaceutical drug, Phenazone (PNZ) has been carried out via heterogeneous photocatalysis, photo-Fenton and in-situ dual process (photocatalysis + photo-Fenton) in suspension and fixed-mode under artificial UV-A as well as under natural solar radiations. Waste material such as foundry sand (FS) was exploited as a supplement for iron in case of photo-Fenton reaction. The distinct processes including photocatalysis and photo-Fenton were found to be competent for the degradation of PNZ as both processes revealed an almost 90-95% removal of PNZ after 180 min of UV irradiations. The degradation was improved to a great extent with remarkable reduction in treatment time of PNZ to almost 105 min when these two individual processes were combined together within the same unit. An almost 14% synergy of dual process over distinct processes was obtained. For fixed-bed studies, TiO2 immobilized hollow circular composite disc already containing FS was utilized which yielded an almost 96% reduction in the concentration of PNZ after 4 h of solar irradiations. The disc was recycled 10 times and its stability and activity was confirmed through XRD, SEM/EDS, and DRS. The mineralization of PNZ was confirmed through significant reduction in COD and generation of anions during the treatment process. The transformation products were examined through GC-MS analysis. The novel technique of in-situ dual process especially in fixed-mode visualized in this study by employing renewable energy and durable catalyst can represent a viable solution to various industries for the treatment of wastewater comprising of bio-recalcitrant pollutants.

N, Ag co-doped TiO2 mediated modified in-situ dual process (modified photocatalysis and photo-Fenton) in fixed-mode for the degradation of Cephalexin under solar irradiations.

Novel FeNAgTiO2 composite beads possessing unusual characteristics of modified in-situ dual process (modified photocatalysis and photo-Fenton) resulted in reduction in treatment time of Cephalexin (CEX). These composite beads were prepared using NAgTiO2 and waste foundry sand (FS) and fly-ash (FA) as alternative source of iron. The modified TiO2 was characterized through SEM/EDS, DRS, XRD, TGA, FTIR, XPS and Raman spectroscopy to affirm the distribution of Ag and N on TiO2 surface. The modified in-situ dual process using FeNAgTiO2 composite beads yielded 77% degradation of CEX after 60 min of solar irradiations with overall synergy of 24% over individual processes. FeNAgTiO2 composite beads were characterized through SEM/EDS, XRD and DRS to confirm the presence of Fe along with Ag, N and TiO2 on the surface of beads. These composite beads were stable and active even after 15 recycles. The mineralization of CEX was validated through reduction in COD and TOC along with generation of anions while intermediates were identified through GC-MS analysis.

Catalyst-coated cement beads for the degradation and mineralization of fungicide carbendazim using laboratory and pilot-scale reactor: catalyst stability analysis.

The fixed-bed photocatalytic degradation of fungicide carbendazim using catalyst-coated spherical cement beads has been investigated. Thirty beads with optimum size 13 mm along with 0.3 gL-1 H2O2 with an initial concentration of carbendazim of 10 mgL-1 were the optimized conditions for better degradation. The reduction in COD and total organic carbon along with the generation of nitrite and nitrate ions under the optimized conditions confirms the complete mineralization of compound. The suggested degradation pathway for carbendazim has also been proposed as intermediates formed during photodegradation were analyzed through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The coated cement beads were found to be durable even after 30 cycles as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis. Scale-up trails have also been carried out in a solar-baffled fixed-bed reactor for the degradation of pollutant to seek the commercial viability of the technique.