Estimation of Sex From the Buccolingual Dimension of Tooth Among the North Indian Population.

INTRODUCTION: Identification is an important aspect of forensic medicine. Identification plays an imperative role, especially in highly decomposed bodies, mutilated bodies, and undisclosed and fragmentary human remains. The estimation of sex is an essential parameter of human identification. In forensic anthropometry, sex determination is related to morphometric characteristics of skeletal bones, such as the skull and mandible, clavicle, sternum, scapula, humerus, pelvic bone, sternum, and femur. Since teeth are decay-resistant, conscientious analysis of teeth can accredit reliable sex estimation of an individual, especially when other determinants are fragmented or destroyed. AIM: The aim of the study was to explore the association between sex and buccolingual crown dimensions of teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study sample consists of 100 volunteer subjects (50 male subjects and 50 female subjects) aged between 20 and 35 years. Alginate was used to take impressions of the teeth and the cast was prepared using pouring by dental stone. Measurements of buccolingual parameters of all the teeth (except the third molars) of both jaws were done on dental casts by using a digital caliper. RESULTS: Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) and were outlined as mean and standard deviation (SD). The male and female groups were compared using an independent Student's t-test or unpaired test. The results of this study revealed that 16 out of 28 odontometric parameters (except third molar) of the two groups (male and female) were higher in the male group as compared to the female group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Buccolingual odontometric parameters can be used for sex estimation in the North Indian population.

Spectrum of vitriolage in India: A retrospective data record-based study.

Introduction: Vitriolage or acid attack or acid throwing is a gender-based terrible violent crime. There are many everlasting sequels of vitriolage which consist of permanent scarring of the face or body, blindness as well as socioeconomic and psychological intricacy. The sufferer of acid attack is competitor, hatred, enmity or jealousy. Vitriolage are most common in the Asian countries especially in south east Asian region followed by Europe and South America. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Colombia and Cambodia are the countries having the highest incidence of acid attacks. There is a sharp rise in vitriolage cases in India in the last few years as indicated by data from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). Seventy per cent victims of vitriolage are women in India as indicated by the annual reports of the Acid Survivor Foundation. Aims and Objective: The aim of the study was to report incidence of acid attacks in India, Indian states and metropolitan cities. To analyse various police and court procedure and to discuss various steps to give justice to the victim of vitriolage. Materials and Methods: Present study is a retrospective data record-based study. Available data for the last 5 years (from 2017 to 2021) were taken from National Crime Report Bureau (NCRB). Available as per NCRB, data were analysed as per aims and objectives. Results: The trend of incidence of acid attacks in India was decreasing in the last 5 years, that is, the incidence was 244 in the year 2017 which become 176 in the year 2021. West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh were the states having the highest number of acid attack incidence during the last 5 years. Delhi city was the top most metropolitan city having the highest acid attack incidence in the last 5 years. Police investigation of cases of acid attacks against women and cases disposed of by the police decreased in the last 5 years. The chargesheeting rate was better in metropolitan cities than overall chargesheeting in India. There was an increased trial of cases of acid attacks against women and a decrease in cases disposed of by the court during the last 5 years. Conviction rate by the court was better in India than the metropolitan cities of India during the last 5 years. Case acquitted by the court in India was 24, 9, 10, 4 and 10, and in metropolitan cities it was 2, 1, 3, 0 and 2 during year 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Conclusion: Vitriolage not only destroys physical health but also destroys mental health. Despite of strict action taken by the Indian government, vitriolage is still prevalent in India. Male dominancy and inadequate legal systems are responsible for this. Though there is a standard set by the Supreme Court for the sale of acid, it remains easily available as the guidelines are frequently violated by the preparator. Case investigation and chargesheeting should increase by the police. Trial of the case and conviction should increase by the court. Vitriolage victims must be sure of their scope to obtain education and job opportunity and societal fiction should be reviewed to support people to acknowledge why vitriolage is committed mainly against females.

The etiological spectrum of miliary brain lesions: A systematic review of published cases and case series.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the published cases with miliary brain lesions and their etiological factors, clinical manifestations, diagnostic procedures, and outcomes. METHODS: A comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar was conducted using the specified search strategy. Eligibility criteria included cases with miliary lesions in the brain confirmed through neuroimaging and various diagnostic procedures. The PRISMA guidelines were followed, and the PROSPERO registration number for the protocol is CRD42023445849. RESULTS: Data from 130 records provided details of 140 patients. Tuberculosis was the primary cause in 93 cases (66.4%), malignancies in 36 cases (25.7%), and other causes accounted for the remaining 11% cases. Tuberculosis patients averaged 35.7 years old, while those with malignancies averaged 55.44 years. Tuberculosis symptoms primarily included fever, headache, and altered sensorium, whereas malignant cases often exhibited progressive encephalopathy, headache, and specific neurological deficits. Distinctive indicators for CNS tuberculosis were choroidal tubercles and paradoxical reactions. Additionally, 63 tuberculosis patients showed miliary lung shadows and 49 had abnormal CSF findings. For the malignancy group, 13 exhibited miliary lung lesions, and 8 had CSF abnormalities. Regarding outcomes, a significant mortality disparity was observed, with 58.3% in the malignancy group, compared to 10.8% in the tuberculosis group and 27.3% in other cases. CONCLUSION: Miliary brain lesions are a crucial imaging abnormality that necessitates prompt work up. In an immunocompromised state, diagnostic possibilities of miliary brain lesions are more varied and often pose a bigger challenge.

Post-mortem interval estimation using miRNAs of road traffic accident cases: A forensic molecular approach.

In forensic examination accurate estimation of post-mortem interval (PMI) is a challenging task, particularly in the advanced stages of decomposition. The existing methods (algor mortis, livor mortis, rigor mortis, putrefaction etc) used for estimating PMI rely on analyzing the physical, biochemical, and metabolic changes that occur in the corpse after death. While these methods have shown some level of effectiveness in estimating PMI during the early stages of decomposition, accurate estimation becomes increasingly challenging during the later stages of putrefaction when the body undergoes significant changes. Recently, microRNA (miRNA) profiling due to its relatively small size and stability has emerged as a promising tool in several areas of forensics. This study demonstrates the potential of miRNA for PMI estimation in advanced stages of death. In this study, miRNA-195, miRNA-206, and miRNA-378 were selected as target miRNAs and miRNA-1 as reference miRNA. Left ventricle tissue (5 g) of the heart from 20 forensic autopsies of traffic accident victims (18-32 years) were collected and processed. The samples were held at room temperature for eight different time intervals (12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 168 and 196 h), and RNA was extracted from all the samples using Trizol-based RNA isolation protocol, followed by cDNA synthesis and amplification with commercially available specific miRNA probes in Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR), Ct was calculated. The result showed that miRNAs were associated with PMI. Over time, there were substantial changes in the Ct values of all three miRNAs, with significant reductions observed at 196 h compared to 12 h. miRNA-206 demonstrated significant changes at multiple time intervals, while miRNA-1 remained stable for up to 196 h and thus holds caas an endogenous marker. In conclusion, miRNA has the potential to serve as a valuable tool for estimating PMI, especially during the advanced stages of decomposition, when used in conjunction with established techniques. However, further validation of the study is required to obtain more accurate estimates of PMI.

Comparison of Demirjian and Cameriere methods and development of modified Cameriere and Demirjian formula more efficient for North Indian population.

Introduction: Accurate age estimation is of utmost importance in several branches of life, be it disaster victim identification (DVI), sports, fashion, education, and many more. Several studies/formulas have been proposed over the years from various parts of the world and amongst them, Cameriere's method of age estimation is now being accepted globally, and the related work is still one of the most thought about. Aim: The aim of this study was to access the relationship between dental age (DA) and chronological age using Cameriere and Demirjian age estimation method in the north Indian population and develop a population-specific regression formula and validate it in the north Indian population. Materials and Methods: Orthopantomograms (OPG) of 762 children of north India with age groups between 7 and 16 years were collected. Seven left permanent mandibular teeth were analyzed using both Cameriere and Demirjian's age estimation method. The resultant data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: The mean differences between CAge and DAge with age were 1.21 (males), 0.14 (males) and 1.72 (females), 0.28 (females) respectively, which shows significant disparity, wherein Demirjian follows overestimation and Cameriere follows the underestimation trend. Therefore, we modified these methods using the linear regression model. Conclusion: The modified Demirjian and Cameriere formula after validation shows a better fit in the north Indian state of the Uttar Pradesh population.

Introducing machine learning model to response surface methodology for biosorption of methylene blue dye using Triticum aestivum biomass.

A major environmental problem on a global scale is the contamination of water by dyes, particularly from industrial effluents. Consequently, wastewater treatment from various industrial wastes is crucial to restoring environmental quality. Dye is an important class of organic pollutants that are considered harmful to both people and aquatic habitats. The textile industry has become more interested in agricultural-based adsorbents, particularly in adsorption. The biosorption of Methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions by the wheat straw (T. aestivum) biomass was evaluated in this study. The biosorption process parameters were optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM) approach with a face-centred central composite design (FCCCD). Using a 10 mg/L concentration MB dye, 1.5 mg of biomass, an initial pH of 6, and a contact time of 60 min at 25 °C, the maximum MB dye removal percentages (96%) were obtained. Artificial neural network (ANN) modelling techniques are also employed to stimulate and validate the process, and their efficacy and ability to predict the reaction (removal efficiency) were assessed. The existence of functional groups, which are important binding sites involved in the process of MB biosorption, was demonstrated using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra. Moreover, a scan electron microscope (SEM) revealed that fresh, shiny particles had been absorbed on the surface of the T. aestivum following the biosorption procedure. The bio-removal of MB from wastewater effluents has been demonstrated to be possible using T. aestivum biomass as a biosorbent. It is also a promising biosorbent that is economical, environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and cost-effective.

Potential use of foundry sand and furnace blast sand for fabrication of visibly active composite to promote circular economy/waste management for treating real agro-industrial wastewater.

A two-step process of coagulation/flocculation followed by a simultaneous dual process (photocatalysis + photo-Fenton) is developed to treat real pulp and paper (P and P) industry wastewater. The rigid stout color wastewater was treated using a sunlight-responsive and cost-effective Fe-TiO2 composite using recirculating photoreactor with a total working volume of 4 L. The key point of this study is that the treatment is done in very less time (90 min), and it incorporates the idea of circular economy, as the composite is fabricated out of industrial rejects. The further intensification of the process was done by proper process optimization of both approaches. With an initial concentration of stout color (0.78 AU) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) (2200 mg/L), the optimized conditions gave a good reduction in % color and % COD, that is, 64.1% and 41.8% (1280 mg/L) after coagulation/flocculation and 89.74% and 53.12% (600 mg/L) after dual, respectively. The composite was characterized by using various techniques like field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM)/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to check the catalyst composition, complexes formed between Fe-TiO2 , and the catalyst intactness in both fresh and 50 times recycled composite. A trapping study was also performed using various quenchers to confirm that OH• plays a major role in the present study among other radicals produced where 55-60% drop in color removal was seen. In order to foresee the commercial use of this study, the process' cost was also estimated. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Industrial waste products were used to fabricate inert support that promoted the idea of circular economy/waste management. Iron from the waste used to execute photo-Fenton process along with forming Fe-TiO2 complex to make it visibly active composite. Enhanced production of OH radicals facilitated removal of stout color and COD from the real pulp and paper industry wastewater in just 90 min. Coagulation/flocculation followed by dual technique proved to be the best approach out of three different approaches applied. Composite showed excellent durability even after 50 recycles.

Solar photocatalytic disinfection of real municipal wastewater using highly durable TiO2-coated composite in a pilot scale once through reactor.

Pollution of water sources by pathogens is a significant concern worldwide. In the present study, a pilot-scale once-through reactor was fabricated to investigate bacteria's inactivation and the degradation of organic matter present in municipal wastewater using an iron-mediated TiO2 catalyst in fixed mode. The catalyst was fabricated (in a spherical shape) using waste material such as foundry sand and fly ash and coated with TiO2 for a combined hybrid effect. The influence of H2O2 concentration and the flow rate of the reactor were examined. 4.1 log reductions of bacteria with 52% and 39% of BOD and COD reductions in 45 min of treatment were observed. The catalyst was also found to be highly durable, with only a 12.5% of reduction in catalyst activity observed after 200 recycles. Therefore, this pilot-scale research indicates the ability of waste materials to be employed as a practical approach for water disinfection applications.

Abatement of paraquat contaminated water using solar assisted heterogeneous photo-Fenton like treatment with iron-containing industrial wastes as catalysts.

Owing to the tremendous increase of chemicals for agricultural practices, the quality of water has degraded significantly and requires inevitable attention. With this in mind, present work aims at treating Paraquat (PQ) contaminated water using Fe containing industrial waste as a catalyst via photo-Fenton treatment. Utilizing the industrially generated Fe rich waste by-products i.e., Fly ash (FA), Foundry sand (FS), Red mud (RM), and Blast sand (BS) as catalysts marks the novelty of the work since this idea of using waste for treating waste serves the dual purpose of environment remediation:first by treating wastewater and second by resolving the issue of solid waste disposal. In the present study, 25 mg/L PQ was subjected to both UV and solar radiations in the presence of FeSO4, FA, FS, RM, and BS as catalysts. The presence of Fe in the catalysts was verified using analytical techniques namely FTIR, FESEM-EDX, and their XRD was also analyzed. The system was further optimized for various parameters and results indicated maximum PQ degradation under UV radiations was attained in the order FeSO4 (73%) > BS (65%) > FS (46%) > RM (37%) > FA (14%) within 60 min which significantly increased with introduction of solar radiations to 83% for Fe salt and 76% for BS justifying the potential of using waste for treating waste. Further, to enhance the real-life utilization of industrial waste, Fe2O3/BS heterojunction (Fe-BS) was synthesized which along with leading to 88% degradation of PQ, also showed 82% COD removal indicating that the catalyst not only degrades the pollutant but also converts it into a lower toxic form. Further, the intermediates formed during the process were analyzed using LCMS.

Reflected near-infrared photography: Digging deeper into post-mortem examination.

AIM: This research aims to investigate the utility of the Near Infra-Red (NIR) photographic technique in visualizing forensic evidence in a post-mortem examination. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of twenty-six deceased (male: n = 15; female: n = 11) were brought to the Mortuary of King George's Medical University, Chowk, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India (226003), and were used to investigate the applicability of the human visible spectrum (HVS) & near-infrared photography. In the investigation, a modified Nikon D5300 crop-framed digital single-lens reflex camera was used for NIR Photography in combination with a Micro-Nikkor 105 mm, f/2.8, (Nikon Inc., Melville, NY, USA), Hoya R72 (760nm-860nm) infrared filter and a Nikon D5600 crop-framed digital single-lens reflex camera in combination with Nikkor 50mm lens for Human Visible Spectrum (HVS) Photography. RESULTS: The finding of the study reported that the application of the NIR photography would be the best of the investigative techniques for visualization and photo-documentation of forensically relevant post-mortem findings, such as - trace evidences (e.g., blood spots & soil particles on dark clothing), in external findings (e.g., contusion on victim's body) also for internal findings in a road traffic accident (RTA), gunshot, and drowning victim (e.g., mud particles in the trachea of drowning victim & localizing contusion of the scalp in road traffic accident cases). CONCLUSION: Human visible spectrum (HVS) photographs taken with Nikon D5600 provides substantial evidence for documentation purpose, the best results for trace evidence & contusion visualization in Post-mortem examination of the deceased were achieved with the NIR Photography in combination with indirect sunlight & room light as an infrared light source. (At a wavelength of 760nm-860nm).

Color removal from secondary treated pulp & paper industry effluent using waste driven Fe-TiO2 composite.

In the present study, the concurrent fixed-bed dual technology (photocatalysis and photo-Fenton) was performed as a polishing step for the color removal of tertiary treated agro-based paper & pulp industry effluent. For this purpose, the cheap and visibly dynamic Fe-TiO2 composite was prepared using industrial waste materials which also promoted the idea of the circular economy. The effectiveness of the prepared composite and the dual process was evaluated in terms of color removal efficiency and rate constant along with optimizing the process factors. Various kinetic models namely Log-linear, Weibull, and Biphasic with shoulder were used for the comparative study of three different processes i.e. photocatalysis, photo-Fenton, and dual process. Several parameters such as pH (4.5), % surface area covered (100%), and H2O2 dose (525 mgL-1) were optimized which gave the best output using dual-process i.e. 91.6% of color reduction along with good R2 values i.e. 0.874, 0.981 and, 0.998 for Log-linear, Weibull and, Biphasic with Shoulder model respectively. The proposed composite was durable enough to retain its dual catalytic ability with minor activity reduction of 5-10% even after 50 recycles. Thus, this innovative technology with the dual effect of photocatalysis and photo-Fenton can be a potential bet as a tertiary treatment option in the existing industrial wastewater treatment system for removing color from the final treated effluent.

Treatment of textile industry wastewater by using high-performance forward osmosis membrane tailored with alpha-manganese dioxide nanoparticles for fertigation.

Forward osmosis (FO) technology has been acknowledged as an energy-efficient cutting-edge water treatment innovation; however, the inefficient performance of polymer-based membranes remains a tailback in the practical utilization of FO. A significant issue in FO is membrane fouling, which negatively influences the flux efficiency, working expenses and membrane life expectancy. Membranes having high water flux and minimum reverse solute flux at low operating pressures are the ideal membranes for this process. This study reports a thin-film nanocomposite (TFNC) membrane for the treatment of textile industry wastewater utilizing fertilizer as draw solution fabricated via the phase inversion process. The chemical structure and morphology of the synthesized manganese oxide (MnO2) incorporated membrane were studied by various characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, contact angle and gravimetry. The outcomes demonstrated that the nanoparticles were bonded to cellulose acetate polymer via covalent bonds and showed very hydrophilic membrane surface, along with an increased osmotic water flux of 52.5 L.m2.h-1 and reverse salt flux of 10.9 g.m2.h-1, when deionized wastewater and potassium chloride were used as the feed solution and the draw solution, respectively. In this manner, incorporating manganese oxide into the FO membrane may introduce its extraordinary possible application for the production of diluted fertilizer solution with balanced nutrients.

Applications of waste-derived visibly active Fe-TiO2 composite incorporating the hybrid process of photocatalysis and photo-Fenton for the inactivation of E. coli.

The study reports the applications of waste-derived visibly active Fe-TiO2 composite for the inactivation of E. coli present in water. The Fe/TiO2 catalyst holds remarkable properties of in situ hybrid effect via combining the TiO2-photocatalytic and photo-Fenton process in one system causing increased production of OH˚. The quantum yield (QY) and reaction rate constant of this hybrid process at 40 W m-2 (UV-A irradiation) were found to be significantly higher in less treatment time (45 min) of E. coli inactivation. 23% synergy of in situ hybrid process over single processes was also observed. The increase in the K+ concentration at regular intervals confirmed the cell wall damage. In fully inactivated samples, no regrowth of cells was observed even after 24 and 48 h of dark study. Additionally, even after 100 recycles, the Fe/TiO2 catalyst demonstrated an exceptional durability/recyclability efficacy. The findings of this study highlight the potential of the hybrid process as a viable idea for post-treatment of the wastewater that can be implemented effectively in practice.

Fabrication and characterization of high-performance forward-osmosis membrane by introducing manganese oxide incited graphene quantum dots.

Forward osmosis (FO) is the futuristic membrane desalination technology as it transcends the disadvantages of other pressure-driven techniques. But, there still remain critical challenges like fabrication of highly permeable membrane with ideal structures maintaining high rejection rates that need to be addressed for implementation as a practical technology. In this work, novel thin-film composite (TFC) membranes were fabricated by means of incorporating manganese oxide (MnO2) incited graphene quantum dots (GQDs) nanocomposite into a cellulose acetate (CA) suspension followed by phase inversion (PI) for enhanced FO performance. The surface morphology and chemical structure of fabricated membranes were studied using various characterization techniques like XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDS, Mapping, AFM, and TGA. The structural parameters, water flux, reverse salt flux and salt rejection was estimated on the basis of data obtained from four varying initial draw solution concentrations. At high nanocomposites stacking, the hydrophilicity of the casting blend increase, and subsequently, the PI exchange rate additionally increases, which brings about noticeable difference in the surface morphology. The membrane with 0.5 wt% nanocomposite exhibited superior FO separation performance with osmotic water flux of 18.89, 34.49, 41.76 and 42.34 in L.m-2.h-1 with variable concentrations of NaCl salt solution (0.25M, 0.5M, 1M, and 2M), respectively. Also, the porosity of the membrane was increased to 47.23% with 96.87% salt rejection. The results indicate that the hydrophilicity of the nanocomposite drives them to the interface among CA and water during PI process leading to solid hydrogen bonding to achieve high water permeability.

Insights on sustainable approaches for production and applications of value added products.

The increasing demand for the development of sustainable strategies to utilize and process agro-industrial residues paves new paths for exploring innovative approaches in this area. Biotechnology based microbial transformations provide efficient, low cost and sustainable approaches for the production of value added products. The use of organic rich residues opens new avenues for the production of enzymes, pigments, biofuels, bioactive compounds, biopolymers etc. with vast industrial and therapeutic applications. Innovative technologies like strain improvement, enzyme immobilization, genome editing, morphological engineering, ultrasound/supercritical fluid/pulse electric field extraction, etc. can be employed. These will be helpful in achieving significant improvement in qualitative and quantitative parameters of the finished products. The global trend for the valorisation of biowaste has boosted the commercialization of these products which has transformed the markets by providing new investment opportunities. The upstream processing of raw materials using microbes poses a limitation in terms of product development and recovery which can be overcome by modifying the bioreactor design, physiological parameters or employing alternate technologies which will be discussed in this review. The other problems related to the processes include product stability, industrial applicability and cost competitiveness which needs to be addressed. This review comprehensively discusses the recent progress, avenues and challenges in the approaches aimed at valorisation of agro-industrial wastes along with possible opportunities in the bioeconomy.

Dimensionally stable anode (Doped-MMO) mediated electro-oxidation and multi-response optimization study for remediation of urea wastewater.

In the present study, the potential application of novel doped-MMO (Ti/IrO2/Ta2O5/SnO2-Sb2O4) anodes as an alternative source to costly electrodes have been visualized for the EO treatment of urea. Parametric optimization for the treatment of urea through the EO process by doped-MMO has been done successfully. The high R2 values of both responses i.e. % Degradation and energy consumption for quadratic suggested by BBD under RSM advocates a good correlation between predicted and experimental data. The maximum % Degradation and energy consumption at optimized were found to be 91.2%, 51.53 kWh m-3 for urea respectively. Additionally, efforts were made to minimize treatment time further by implementing a dual effect, namely photo-electrocatalysis. The anode was found to be relatively stable even after 120 runs. The analysis of treated urea solution was verified in terms of total organic carbon (TOC) 90.0% reduction. The average operating cost of the electro-oxidation treatment process is determined to be 1.91 $ m-3. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of doped-MMO as a promising concept for the treatment of wastewater that can be successfully applied in real life.

Metals toxicity and its correlation with the gene expression in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly population and a leading cause of dementia. Genetics and environmental risk factors were considered to play a major role in the onset of the disease. This study aimed to examine the correlation between different metals levels and the gene expression in Alzheimer's patients with age-matched control subjects. Non- essential metals were measured in the whole blood due to its higher concentration in red blood corpuscles (RBCs) and essential biometals in the serum samples of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by using Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) that allows the analysis and detection of the different elements at low levels. Gene expression level was performed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). In this study, the levels of Lead and Arsenic metals were not detected in the AD patient samples. Cadmium, Mercury, and Aluminum were found higher in cases as compared to controls with 0.009240 ± 0.0007707 (P = < 0.0001), 0.02332 ± 0.001041 (P = < 0.0001), and 0.09222 ± 0.02804 (P = 0.0087) respectively. Essential biometal like copper was higher 0.1274 ± 0.02453 (P = 0.0254) in cases, while iron 0.1117 ± 0.009599 (P = 0.0304) and zinc 0.03800 ± 0.003462 mg/L were found significantly lower as compared to controls. All targeted genes such as APP, PSEN1, PSEN2, and APOE4 were found up-regulated in AD patients. We concluded that there was no significant correlation between metals dyshomeostasis and gene expressions in this study.

Degradation of pharmaceutical drug paracetamol via UV irradiation using Fe-TiO2 composite photocatalyst: statistical analysis and parametric optimization.

In the present investigation, a novel Fe-TiO2 composite was fabricated by mixing fly ash (FA), foundry sand (FS), and bentonite clay for the degradation of paracetamol (PCM). This composite acts as a surface for immobilizing the TiO2 catalyst (using the dip-coating method) besides facilitating the leaching of iron (FA and FS) in acidic conditions. Leached iron (in the form of Fe(II), Fe(III), and total iron) promotes the photo-Fenton (with the addition of H2O2 in the system) while the surface-active TiO2 layer leads to photocatalysis, thus leading to in situ dual process combining photocatalysis and photo-Fenton in one system. This dual process led to a synergy of 75% in comparison to the photocatalysis and photo-Fenton process owing to the large production of •OH. Various parameters such as H2O2 dose (525 mg l-1), number of beads (80), degradation time (215 min), and volume (200 ml) were optimized, and 96.6% of reduction in PCM was observed. Durability study of catalyst showed a minor reduction in the activity of the catalyst after 30 cycles. The TiO2 catalyst was still intact as a film, and iron leaching was also occurring from the beads even after recycling, thus confirming their long-term durability in terms of dual effect. The stability and durability of the composite were confirmed by characteristic analysis such as SEM/EDS. Mineralization of PCM was concluded through the estimation of degradation by-products using GC-MS analysis followed by estimation of nitrate and nitrite ions.

In-situ dual effect of Ag-Fe-TiO2 composite for the photocatalytic degradation of Ciprofloxacin in aqueous solution.

Industrial waste materials such as Fly Ash (FA), Foundry Sand (FS) were used as support material by mixing them with clay to fix the catalyst. Where FA and FS served as an iron (Fe) source to induce the photo-Fenton process. The presence of Fe in FA and FS was affirmed by SEM-EDS characterization. UV-DRS was performed to analyze the bandgap of the composite which reduced from 2.96 to 2.82 eV after doping TiO2 with Ag. This composite was used to initiate photocatalysis. The fixing of catalyst on a support formed the Fe-Ag-TiO2 complex which led to the commencement of the in-situ dual process(i.e. photocatalysis and photo-Fenton) in fixed bed mode. After the optimization of several parameters such as H2O2 dose, the area covered by beads, A/V ratio, Flow rate, pH under solar irradiations for 60 min, 94.4% degradation of CIP was attained. XRD analysis was carried out to confirm the crystallographic phases of the composite anatase and rutile phases of TiO2 were present in the composite. The systematic leaching of iron took place in this process and was confirmed by iron estimation during the reaction process. To understand the elemental composition of the composite SEM-EDS was performed and the present of TiO2, Fe and Ag was affirmed. Composite beads were stable and active even after the 30 recycles as confirmed by SEM-EDS. The intermediate products were analyzed by GC-MS analysis whereas the toxicity of the treated samples was studied by the zone inhibition test.

Sialic acid associated with oxidative stress and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) expression level as a predictive indicator in moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown many risk factors associated with disease onset, but the sialic acid association with oxidative stress biomarkers may a key factor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We aim to find out the most specific biomarker from the peripheral blood samples in moderate to severe Alzheimer's patients. METHODS: This study examined the level of sialic acid associated with oxidative stress biomarkers and total antioxidant capacity level (TAC) in the plasma samples. Different parameters of Oxidative stress and Total antioxidant capacity by the immunoassay method have been examined in AD patients as compared to controls. The Catalase (CAT), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Lipid peroxidation (LPO), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), Total Glutathione (GSH), and Protein carbonyl group levels were estimated in this study. RESULTS: Increased level of sialic acid is found associated with a higher level of reactive oxygen species parameters in the patients. The antioxidant parameter levels have been found significantly lower in AD, while Protein carbonyl group and lipid peroxidation were increased in cases as compared to controls with the area under the curve (AUC) 0.816, p < 0.0001 and 0.754, p < 0.0001. The Protein carbonyl group, Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and Sigma-Aldrich TAC levels were higher in females as compared to males in AD patients. CONCLUSION: During AD pathology, sialic acid, protein carbonyl, and lipid peroxidation were found as the more sensitive marker that may be used as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.