Sequential electro-coagulation and electro-Fenton processes for the treatment of textile wastewater.

Textile wastewater, laden with persistent dyes and non-biodegradable organics, poses a challenge for treatment in common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) using conventional methods. Pre-treatment of textile effluents is essential to ensure compatibility with CETPs. The present study employed three-dimensional (3D) aluminum and graphite electrodes for a sequential electro-coagulation and electro-Fenton (EC + EF) process. An experimental plan of 25 experiments was constructed using Taguchi method. The combination resulted in high removal efficiencies: 99.91% for color, 93.20% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), and 91.75% for total organic carbon (TOC) for the operating parameters; for EC, current density (J): 20 mA/cm2, time (t): 45 min, speed of rotation (N): 55 rpm; and for EF, current density (J): 25 mA/cm2, time (t): 50 min, iron concentration: 40 mg/L. Post-treatment, the wastewater exhibited an enhanced biodegradability index of 0.875, rendering it suitable for CETPs. There was an increase of 11% in the total energy consumption when energy spent during rotation and aeration at the time of EC and EF, respectively, were considered. This energy increases the cost and is not accounted for, in previous research. The energy consumption in kWh per g of COD removed at optimum condition for the hybrid treatment was 0.0314, which is lower than the energy consumption by other electrochemical processes employing plate electrodes. This indicates that 3D electrodes are more energy efficient than plate electrodes. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Hybrid electrochemical processes can be used as pre-treatment method for textile effluents. Three-dimensional electrodes improve removal rates with lower energy consumption. Significant color, COD, and TOC abatement were noted post-hybrid treatment of textile wastewater. Biodegradability of the textile effluent improves after the hybrid treatment.

HIRA: Heart Rate Interval based Rapid Alert score to characterize autonomic dysfunction among patients with sepsis-related acute respiratory failure (ARF).

Objective. To examine whether heart rate interval based rapid alert (HIRA) score derived from a combination model of heart rate variability (HRV) and modified early warning score (MEWS) is a surrogate for the detection of acute respiratory failure (ARF) in critically ill sepsis patients.Approach. Retrospective HRV analysis of sepsis patients admitted to Emory healthcare intensive care unit (ICU) was performed between sepsis-related ARF and sepsis controls without ARF. HRV measures such as time domain, frequency domain, and nonlinear measures were analyzed up to 24 h after patient admission, 1 h before the onset of ARF, and a random event time in the sepsis controls. Statistical significance was computed by the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. Machine learning algorithms such as eXtreme Gradient Boosting and logistic regression were developed to validate the HIRA score model. The performance of HIRA and early warning score models were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC).Main Results. A total of 89 (ICU) patients with sepsis were included in this retrospective cohort study, of whom 31 (34%) developed sepsis-related ARF and 58 (65%) were sepsis controls without ARF. Time-domain HRV for Electrocardiogram (ECG) Beat-to-Beat RR intervals strongly distinguished ARF patients from controls. HRV measures for nonlinear and frequency domains were significantly altered (p< 0.05) among ARF compared to controls. The HIRA score AUC: 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88-0.98) showed a higher predictive ability to detect ARF when compared to MEWS (AUC: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.50-0.90).Significance. HRV was significantly impaired across patients who developed ARF when compared to controls. The HIRA score uses non-invasively derived HRV and may be used to inform diagnostic and therapeutic decisions regarding the severity of sepsis and earlier identification of the need for mechanical ventilation.

Leukaemic Transformation of Multiple Myeloma in Post Chemotherapy Remission Phase.

Plasma cell leukaemia is diagnosed when plasma cells are >20% in the peripheral blood. Plasma cell leukaemia may be present at the time of diagnosis (primary plasma cell leukaemia) or may evolve from multiple myeloma (secondary plasma cell leukaemia). We report case of a 62-year-old male who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He was treated with combination of prednisolone, melphalan and thalidomide. After 6 years he had Worsening of symptoms and also developed a scalp swelling. The swelling was diagnosed as plasmacytoma on fine needle aspiration cytology and confirmed on histopathology. Complete haemogram showed-Haemoglobin - 8g/dl, Total Leucocyte Count - 4300/µl, Differential leucocyte count - Neutrophil-40%, Lymphocyte-28%, Eosinophil-01%, Monocyte-10%, Atypical cells-21%, Platelet count- 1.5 lacs/µl. Peripheral blood showed rouleaux formation and plasma cells. Serum protein electrophoresis revealed an M spike (3.26 g/dl). So, patient was diagnosed as secondary plasma cell leukaemia. Weekly bortezomib and dexamethasone combination chemotherapy was given to the patient. Patient is on monthly follow up. Here we present a detailed case history of this patient.

Trichoepithelioma and Basal Cell Carcinoma with Squamous Differentiation: Is it Causal or Coincidental?

Trichoepitheliomas (TEs) are benign cutaneous tumors that occur either as solitary non-familial or multiple familial. We report a case of multiple familial trichoepithelioma (MFT) in a 55-year-old female patient and her son who came with complaints of single ulcerated mass involving the left nasolabial fold and cheek. She had multiple papules and nodules all over the face and neck since 25 years. Histopathological examination of an ulcerated lesion revealed features of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) with squamous differentiation, which was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. A skin biopsy obtained from the papule on neck showed features of TE. However, whether BCC developed independently or by transformation from TE was uncertain. Her 36-year-old son presented with similar lesions on the face and a skin biopsy showed features of TE. Though malignant transformation of TE is quite rare, awareness of the potential for evolution of carcinoma in patients with MFT is important for management of these patients.

(Z)-3-[2-(2,4-Di-nitro-phen-yl)hydrazin-1-yl-idene]isobenzo-furan-1(3H)-one di-chloro-methane hemisolvate.

In the title compound, 2C14H8N4O6·CH2Cl2, the di-chloro-methane solvent mol-ecule resides on a crystallographic twofold axis. The mean plane of the phthaliso-imide ring is oriented at a dihedral angle of 32.93 (12)° with respect to the nitro-substituted benzene ring. An intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs. The crystal packing features a short Cl⋯O halogen-bond inter-action [3.093 (3) Å].

An unusual presentation of Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a relatively rare and unique disease. An incidence of 7.9% in the jaws is reported. We report a case of 9-year-old male child referred to us from dental outpatient department, who presented with a firm swelling in right lower jaw along with bilateral submandibular lymphadenopathy for 1-month. Fine-needle aspiration was done from lytic lesion in the body of mandible and multiple smears were prepared. On the basis of the clinical and cytomorphological findings, a diagnosis of LCH was suggested. The diagnosis was confirmed on histology. Thus, a high possibility of LCH should be considered in children presenting with lytic lesions in head and neck region.

A study of abandoned ash ponds reclaimed through green cover development.

Green capping is one of the popular methods to re-vegetate abandoned ash ponds of coal based thermal power plants thereby lowering the risk of contamination to the surrounding environment. It has innumerable advantages such as prevention of dust emission, checking soil erosion, stabilizing the surface areas of ash, preventing potential ground water contamination, and finally, adding native vegetation cover, which is very vital in the long term. During the early nineties and later, various reclamation projects were carried out on fly ash dumps, but until date, there have not been any initiatives to assess the alterations in physicochemical and biological properties of fly ash resulting from implementation of these reclamation projects. In the present study, three abandoned ash ponds, located in India, that were reclaimed during 1998-2003 are investigated. Marked alterations in nutritional status, microbial population, and microbial activities have been observed in reclaimed ash ponds.