Green engineered biomolecule-capped silver and copper nanohybrids using Prosopis cineraria leaf extract: Enhanced antibacterial activity against microbial pathogens of public health relevance and cytotoxicity on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7).

This research focused on green engineering and characterization of silver (PcAgNPs) and copper nanoparticles (PcCuNPs) using Prosopis cineraria (Pc) leaf extract prepared by using microwave irradiation. We studied their enhanced antimicrobial activity on human pathogens as well as cytotoxicity on breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Biofabricated silver and copper nanoparticles exhibited UV-Visible absorbance peaks at 420 nm and 575 nm, confirming the bioreduction and stabilization of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD, FESEM, and EDX analysis. FTIR results indicated the presence of alcohols, alkanes, aromatics, phenols, ethers, benzene, amines and amides that were possibly involved in the reduction and capping of silver and copper ions. XRD analysis was performed to confirm the crystalline nature of the silver and copper nanoparticles. FESEM analysis suggested that the nanoparticles were hexagonal or spherical in shape with size ranging from 20 to 44.49 nm and 18.9-32.09 nm for AgNPs and CuNPs, respectively. EDX analysis confirmed the presence of silver and copper elemental signals in the nanoparticles. The bioengineered silver and copper nanohybrids showed enhanced antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative MDR human pathogens. MTT assay results indicated that CuNPs show potential cytotoxic effect followed by AgNPs against MCF-7 cancer cell line. IC50 were 65.27 µg/ml, 37.02 µg/ml and 197.3 µg/ml for PcAgNPs, PcCuNPs and P. cineraria leaf extracts, respectively, treated MCF-7 cells. The present investigation highlighted an effective protocol for microwave-assisted synthesis of biomolecule-loaded silver and copper nanoparticles with enhanced antibacterial and anticancer activity. Results strongly suggested that bioengineered AgNPs and CuNPs could be used as potential tools against microbial pathogens and cancer cells.

Recycling of lime sludge emanating from tannery industry through vermicomposting using Eisenia foetida.

The research was focused on the control of pollution, which is caused due to tannery waste disposal, through the process of vermicomposting. Earthworms have increasingly been used for waste management. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to recycle the lime sludge emanating from a selected tannery industry through vermicomposting. Tannery solid waste was allowed to compost for 60 days, and then the composts were harvested and analyzed for selected physio-chemical and biochemical parameters. A flowering plant namely Tagets erecta Linn was grown in soil mixed with the vermicomposts obtained, and was studied for its growth attributes and compared with the control plant growth on soil alone. The attributes studied were biometric parameters, like root length, shoot length, plant height, plant weight, number of leaves, flowers and buds. The alkaline nature of the lime sludge was reduced to neutral range on vermicomposting. The electrical conductivity of the lime sludge was also reduced on vermicomposting which might be due to the transformation of complex organic compounds into simpler forms. The biochemical parameters, such as nitrogen and carbon were also reduced on vermicomposting.

Declining prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in rural schoolchildren in India: 2001-2002.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatic heart disease is still a major health problem in developing countries such as India and, for the health planners to allocate funds, the actual prevalence of the disease should be known. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in rural school children in India. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 229,829 children between 6 and 18 years of age were screened as part of a school health program. All children with a valvar heart disease detected by the screening doctor were referred to a tertiary care center for evaluation by a cardiologist. The presence of cardiac lesions was confirmed by color Doppler examination. All children with known congenital heart disease were excluded from this study. A total of 374 children were found to have heart disease. Of these, 157 children were found to have rheumatic heart disease, confirmed by echocardiogram. Thus, the current prevalence of rheumatic heart disease is 0.68 per 1000 children. CONCLUSIONS: In the largest school survey conducted to date in India, we report the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease to be 0.68 per 1000 children. Our study suggests that there may have been a dramatic decline in the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in India.

Evaluation of a two-reagent cold staining method for detection of acid-fast bacilli.

SETTING: Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai, India. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a two-reagent cold staining method for detection of acid-fast bacilli in sputum smears. SPUTUM SAMPLES: Two hundred and forty-four samples from pulmonary tuberculosis patients attending Tuberculosis Research Centre were used. METHODS AND DESIGN: Two smears were prepared from each of the samples, of which one was allotted to the two-reagent cold staining method and the other to the Ziehl-Neelsen (Z-N) method. The smears were read blind by a single technician. To ensure correct grading, a senior technician checked all positives and 20% of the negative smears. All the samples were processed by modified Petroff's method for culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. RESULTS: The concordance (smear grade one above and one below) between the methods was 90% (kappa value, 0.7). The performance of the cold method and the Z-N method was similar when their smear results were compared with culture results (cold method vs. culture, kappa = 0.61; ZN method vs. culture, kappa = 0.67) CONCLUSION: The two-reagent cold staining method was found to be as sensitive and specific as the Z-N method. However, large-scale multicentric studies in different climatic conditions need to be conducted to assess its efficacy in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.