Assessing rare earth elements in Indian coal ash using Westcott formalism in NAA and leaching studies.

This study employs Westcott formalism coupled with the internal monostandard approach in k 0-NAA to assess Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in Indian coal ash samples. This method mitigates neutron flux perturbations during irradiation and enables in situ detector efficiency calibration for quantitative analysis. Deviations in thermal capture cross-sections for non-1/v nuclides in REEs were addressed using the Westcott g(T n )-factor obtained from the ENDF/B-VIII.0 data. REEs content in Indian coal ash was found to be 350-500 mg kg-1, aligning with global standards. Leaching feasibility for medium-lived REEs with hydrochloric acid was demonstrated, supporting effective recovery. These findings suggest Indian coal ash as a potential secondary resource for REEs amid global supply challenges.

Integrating Plastic Waste into Concrete: Sustainable Solutions for the Environment.

Plastic waste management has received significant attention in recent decades due to the urgent global environmental crisis caused by plastic pollution. The versatile and durable nature of plastic has led to its widespread usage across various sectors. However, its nonbiodegradable nature contributes to unsustainable production practices, leading to extensive landfill usage and posing threats to marine ecosystems and the food chain. To address these environmental concerns, numerous challenges have been recently addressed through investigating alternative approaches for disposing of plastic waste, with the construction sector emerging as a promising option. Incorporating plastic waste materials into concrete not only offers economic benefits but also provides a valid alternative to conventional disposal methods. This paper presents the results of different experimental studies, some of them available in the literature and others new, discussing the feasibility of integrating plastic waste into concrete and its impact on mechanical properties. The influence of different sizes, natures, treatments, and percentages of plastic waste in the concrete mixtures is dealt with in order to provide further data for helping to understand the nonunivocal results in the literature, under the conviction that only further observations can help to understand the mechanics of concrete with plastic aggregates. The experimental investigation highlighted that one parameter that is better than others and can be considered to compare different experimental investigations is the variation in weight (due to the effective volume of plastics in the mix), determining a sort of increasing of porosity that degrades the mechanical characteristics. However, this seems inconsistent in some cases. Therefore, the need for further research is highlighted to refine production methods and optimize mix designs.

Providing insight into the mechanism of action of cationic lipidated oligomers using metabolomics.

The increasing resistance of clinically relevant microbes against current commercially available antimicrobials underpins the urgent need for alternative and novel treatment strategies. Cationic lipidated oligomers (CLOs) are innovative alternatives to antimicrobial peptides and have reported antimicrobial potential. An understanding of their antimicrobial mechanism of action is required to rationally design future treatment strategies for CLOs, either in monotherapy or synergistic combinations. In the present study, metabolomics was used to investigate the potential metabolic pathways involved in the mechanisms of antibacterial activity of one CLO, C12-o-(BG-D)-10, which we have previously shown to be effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ATCC 43300. The metabolomes of MRSA ATCC 43300 at 1, 3, and 6 h following treatment with C12-o-(BG-D)-10 (48 µg/mL, i.e., 3× MIC) were compared to those of the untreated controls. Our findings reveal that the studied CLO, C12-o-(BG-D)-10, disorganized the bacterial membrane as the first step toward its antimicrobial effect, as evidenced by marked perturbations in the bacterial membrane lipids and peptidoglycan biosynthesis observed at early time points, i.e., 1 and 3 h. Central carbon metabolism and the biosynthesis of DNA, RNA, and arginine were also vigorously perturbed, mainly at early time points. Moreover, bacterial cells were under osmotic and oxidative stress across all time points, as evident by perturbations of trehalose biosynthesis and pentose phosphate shunt. Overall, this metabolomics study has, for the first time, revealed that the antimicrobial action of C12-o-(BG-D)-10 may potentially stem from the dysregulation of multiple metabolic pathways.IMPORTANCEAntimicrobial resistance poses a significant challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. Novel anti-infective therapeutics are urgently needed to combat drug-resistant microorganisms. Cationic lipidated oligomers (CLOs) show promise as new antibacterial agents against Gram-positive pathogens like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Understanding their molecular mechanism(s) of antimicrobial action may help design synergistic CLO treatments along with monotherapy. Here, we describe the first metabolomics study to investigate the killing mechanism(s) of CLOs against MRSA. The results of our study indicate that the CLO, C12-o-(BG-D)-10, had a notable impact on the biosynthesis and organization of the bacterial cell envelope. C12-o-(BG-D)-10 also inhibits arginine, histidine, central carbon metabolism, and trehalose production, adding to its antibacterial characteristics. This work illuminates the unique mechanism of action of C12-o-(BG-D)-10 and opens an avenue to design innovative antibacterial oligomers/polymers for future clinical applications.

Surgery for idiopathic full-thickness macular holes within four months of symptom onset yields superior visual outcomes: Results from an Irish patient cohort.

PURPOSE: To describe the anatomical, visual, and safety results of full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) repair surgery and determine factors influencing outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients who underwent primary FTMH repair surgery by a single surgeon over a 3-year period. For comparisons, Snellen visual acuity (VA) was converted to logMAR equivalent. Anatomical hole closure, visual improvement, and final VA of ≤ 0.30 logMAR were the primary outcome measures. RESULTS: Twenty eyes of 19 patients were included. Mean patient age was 69 years (range 55 to 80 years) and 74% were female. Mean minimum linear diameter (MLD) was 440 µm (range 170 µm to 1200 µm). Mean duration of symptoms before surgery was 16 weeks (range 3 to 39 weeks). 100% of eyes achieved successful anatomical FTMH closure. Mean VA improved from 1.03 ± 0.43 logMAR (Snellen 6/60) preoperatively to 0.35 ± 0.22 logMAR (Snellen 6/15) postoperatively (p = 0.0001). Patients with worse preoperative VA gained more vision than those with better preoperative VA (p = 0.01). Eyes operated on within 4 months of symptom onset were more than twice as likely to achieve a postoperative VA of ≤ 0.30 logMAR (Snellen 6/12 or better) compared to eyes with a longer duration of symptoms (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: FTMH repair surgery was safe and effective, with outcomes comparing favourably with published international studies. All patients benefited from surgery regardless of symptom duration, presenting VA or FTMH size. However, surgery performed within 4 months of symptom-onset was particularly beneficial, highlighting the need for prompt referral and surgery.

Presentations to eye emergency departments with flashes and floaters differ dependent on incident solar radiation.

AIM: The aim of this retrospective review was to analyse the frequency of patients presenting with flashes and/or floaters (F/F) on bright versus dark days to the eye emergency department of a tertiary referral hospital (the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital) over a 3-year period. The diagnostic and clinical outcomes of F/F presentations were also analysed. METHODS: This retrospective study assessed eye casualty attendances between January 2018 and December 2020. Solar irradiation (j/cm2) at ground level was retrieved from the records of Met Eireann (Irish National Meteorological Service) via their open access records. A review of electronic patient medical records using the in-house database patient centre was carried out of all patients who attended EED of during the study timeline on the 5 'brightest' and 5 'darkest' days of each year. RESULTS: Seven hundred forty patient presentations were analysed in total. Overall, 16% (n = 119) of all patients that attended EED during the timeframe of the study presented with F/F. One hundred six patients (89%) presented with floaters, 40 patients (34%) presented with flashing lights/photopsia, and 35 patients (29%) presented with both F/F. More patients presented to EED with F/F on bright days when compared with dark days (74 vs 45, p < 0.05). Eighty-nine percent of all patients with F/F presented with monocular floaters. There were more floater presentations during bright when compared with dark days (70 vs 36, p < 0.05). More patients were diagnosed with PVD on bright days when compared with those diagnosed with PVD on dark days (43vs 15, p < 0.05). More RDs were diagnosed on dark days compared with bright days (7 vs 3, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study established that F/F presentations were more likely to present during bright days when compared with dark days. The diagnosis of PVD was more common during bright days, and RDs were diagnosed significantly more frequently on dark days. Although incident solar radiation was correlated with greater floaters/PVD presentation, causation is unlikely, and the duration of PVD may have been longer in patients presenting on bright days (i.e. pseudo-sudden symptoms).

Is Pterygium Morphology Related to Loss of Corneal Endothelial Cells? A Cross-Sectional Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the difference in mean corneal endothelial cell density (CECD) between the healthy and diseased eyes of the patients with unilateral pterygium with different morphology patterns by using a non-contact specular microscope (SP2000: Topcon Corporation, Japan) and to find out any relationship between severity of pterygium and daily sunlight exposure with the CECD loss. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional prospective study was carried out at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital (ASTEH), Rawalpindi, Pakistan from 21st January 2019 to 22nd January 2020. Two hundred eyes (n= 100 patients) of age range18 -68 years with unilateral pterygium were selected. Necessary demographic data and essential variables like age, smoking status, occupation, and daily direct sunlight exposure were determined. The severity of pterygium (grading) based on its morphology was determined by slit-lamp examination. CECD of each patient was carried out using a non-contact Specular Microscope. The healthy eye (without pterygium) of a patient was considered as control. RESULTS: The age range in this study was 18-68 years, with a mean age of 43.80 ± 24.37 years with a male to female ratio of 1.6:1 (62.00% males vs 38% females). Out of six occupations, the most common occupation was labour/construction work (n=31) followed by farming (n=27). The study reported a mean corneal endothelial cell density (CECD) of 2411.61±143.64 vs 2751.41 ± 123.674 cells/mm2 in diseased and normal eyes, respectively (p-value = 0.0001). CECD was lower in grade 3 pterygium compared to less severe pterygium { grade 3 (Fleshy) =2261 cells/mm2 vs grade 2 (Intermediate)= 2413 cells/mm2 vs grade 1 (Atrophic)=2459 cells/mm2} although this difference between the groups was not found to be significant (p=0.065). No significant association between sunlight exposure and CECD loss was observed (p=0.065). CONCLUSION: This study concluded that the mean corneal endothelial cell density in patients with unilateral pterygium using a non-contact specular microscope were 2411.61±143.64 cells/mm2.

Estimating genomic heritabilities at the level of family-pool samples of perennial ryegrass using genotyping-by-sequencing.

KEYMESSAGE: By using the genotyping-by-sequencing method, it is feasible to characterize genomic relationships directly at the level of family pools and to estimate genomic heritabilities from phenotypes scored on family-pools in outbreeding species. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) has recently become a promising approach for characterizing plant genetic diversity on a genome-wide scale. We use GBS to extend the concept of heritability beyond individuals by genotyping family-pool samples by GBS and computing genomic relationship matrices (GRMs) and genomic heritabilities directly at the level of family-pools from pool-frequencies obtained by sequencing. The concept is of interest for species where breeding and phenotyping is not done at the individual level but operates uniquely at the level of (multi-parent) families. As an example we demonstrate the approach using a set of 990 two-parent F2 families of perennial ryegrass (Lolium Perenne). The families were phenotyped as a family-unit in field plots for heading date and crown rust resistance. A total of 728 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants were available and were divided in groups of different sequencing depths. GRMs based on GBS data showed diagonal values biased upwards at low sequencing depth, while off-diagonals were little affected by the sequencing depth. Using variants with high sequencing depth, genomic heritability for crown rust resistance was 0.33, and for heading date 0.22, and these genomic heritabilities were biased downwards when using variants with lower sequencing depth. Broad sense heritabilities were 0.61 and 0.66, respectively. Underestimation of genomic heritability at lower sequencing depth was confirmed with simulated data. We conclude that it is feasible to use GBS to describe relationships between family-pools and to estimate genomic heritability directly at the level of F2 family-pool samples, but estimates are biased at low sequencing depth.

Genomic dissection and prediction of heading date in perennial ryegrass.

BACKGROUND: Genomic selection (GS) has become a commonly used technology in animal breeding. In crops, it is expected to significantly improve the genetic gains per unit of time. So far, its implementation in plant breeding has been mainly investigated in species farmed as homogeneous varieties. Concerning crops farmed in family pools, only a few theoretical studies are currently available. Here, we test the opportunity to implement GS in breeding of perennial ryegrass, using real data from a forage breeding program. Heading date was chosen as a model trait, due to its high heritability and ease of assessment. Genome Wide Association analysis was performed to uncover the genetic architecture of the trait. Then, Genomic Prediction (GP) models were tested and prediction accuracy was compared to the one obtained in traditional Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) methods. RESULTS: Several markers were significantly associated with heading date, some locating within or proximal to genes with a well-established role in floral regulation. GP models gave very high accuracies, which were significantly better than those obtained through traditional MAS. Accuracies were higher when predictions were made from related families and from larger training populations, whereas predicting from unrelated families caused the variance of the estimated breeding values to be biased downwards. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated that there are good perspectives for GS implementation in perennial ryegrass breeding, and that problems resulting from low linkage disequilibrium (LD) can be reduced by the presence of structure and related families in the breeding population. While comprehensive Genome Wide Association analysis is difficult in species with extremely low LD, we did identify variants proximal to genes with a known role in flowering time (e.g. CONSTANS and Phytochrome C).