Sustainable remediation of pesticide pollutants using covalent organic framework - A review on material properties, synthesis methods and application.

Covalent organic frameworks (COF) have emerged as a potential class of materials for a variety of applications in a wide number of sectors including power storage, environmental services, and biological applications due to their ordered and controllable porosity, large surface area, customizable structure, remarkable stability, and diverse electrical characteristics. COF have received a lot of attention in recent years in the field of environmental remediation, It also find its way to eliminate the emerging pollutant from the environment notably pesticide from polluted water. This review more concentrated on the application of COF in pesticide removal by modifying COF structure, COF synthesis and material properties. To increase the adsorption ability and selectivity of the material towards certain pesticides removal, the synthesis of COF involves organic linkers with various functional groups such as amine, carboxylic acid groups etc. The COF have a high degree of stability and endurance make them suitable for intermittent usage in water treatment applications. This review manifests the novel progress where modified COFs employed in a prominent manner to remove pesticides from polluted water. Some examples of COF application in the eradication of pesticides are triformyl phenylene framework functionalized with amine groups has capacity to remove up to 50 mg/l of Organophosphorus - chlorpyrifos. COF modified to improve their photocatalytic capacity to breakdown the pesticide under visible light irradiation. COF tetraphenyl ethylene linked with carboxylic acid group shows efficient photocatalytic degradation of 90% of organochlorine insecticide endosulfan when subjected to visible light. Atrazine and imidacloprid are reduced from 100 ppm to 1 ppm in aqueous solutions by COF based on high adsorption capacity. In addition, the strategies, technique, synthesis and functional group modification design of COF are discussed.

Binaural Processing and Auditory Working Memory in Individuals with Tinnitus Having Normal Hearing Sensitivity.

BACKGROUND: Tinnitus is a sound perceived in the ears or head without any external or internal sound source. It can be hypothesized that the auditory processing at the different levels of the auditory pathway and working memory may get affected due to the additional sound contributed by tinnitus. The objective of our study is to evaluate binaural processes and working memory capacity in individual with tinnitus having normal hearing sensitivity. METHODS: The binaural interaction process was evaluated using the interaural time difference and interaural level difference. Similarly, the binaural integration process was assessed using the dichotic consonant-vowel test, and the working memory was assessed using the audio descending span test and Audio 2N-Back span test. Mann-Whitney U test was done to see the significant difference between the groups. RESULTS: The Mann-Whitney U test showed significantly poorer interaural level difference scores in the tinnitus group. Also, dichotic consonantvowel test scores and auditory working memory test scores were found to be significantly lower in individuals with tinnitus. CONCLUSION: The binaural processes, along with the working memory capacity, are found to be affected in an individual with tinnitus, which in turn may affect the speech perception ability of the individual.

A Direct Non-destructive Method for Determination of Sulfur in Ore Samples Using EDXRF Spectrometry.

A method has been developed for direct non-destructive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) determination of sulfur in solid uranium ores and intermediates, obtained from the alkaline recovery process for uranium from its ores. The method involves thorough grinding of a few mg of solid powder samples to fine particle size and mixing the fine powder thus obtained with a few drops of 10% collodion solution in amyl acetate to make a paste. A very small amount of this paste was transferred with the help of the pestle tip, spread uniformly in the form of thin slurry on Mylar films, and dried to make very thin sample specimens on thin Mylar film supports. These specimens were presented for EDXRF measurements. A calibration plot was made by plotting the intensity ratios of S Kα and Rayliegh scattered peak of the excitation source (Ge Kα) against sulphur percent in the certified reference materials (CRMs). It was found that the precision obtained using this methodology was within 5% (±1σ) and the deviation of the EDXRF analytical results from the expected values of CRM was within 7%. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of sulfur in the samples obtained from the different stages of the uranium ore processing using alkaline based leaching method.

Mynx vascular closure device achieves reliable closure and hemostasis of percutaneous transfemoral venous access in a porcine vascular model.

AIMS: Vascular closure device (VCD)-based venous closure has been anecdotally reported, but systematic evaluation of the reparative response of the vessel wall to venous closure is lacking. The need to control groin complications, and minimize risks associated with postponed sheath removal under conditions of persistent anticoagulation, has generated interest in the role of VCDs for venous access closure. We sought to characterize the vessel wall response to venous closure, both acutely and in delayed fashion at 30 days using angiography, ultrasound, and histology. METHODS: Ten venous 7 Fr sheaths were deployed in the femoral veins of swine. Bilateral venous access sites were subsequently closed utilizing manual compression (MC; control arm: n = 4) or a closure device utilizing an extravascular polyethylene glycol sealant (MynxGrip treatment arm: n = 6). Acute (post closure), 3-day, and 30-day vascular ultrasound, as well as venography (internal jugular approach) were used to assess outcomes. Gross pathology and histology were obtained at the 30-day endpoint for all femoral venous closure sites. RESULTS: Hemostasis was successfully achieved in all cases without access-site complications. Venography and ultrasound confirmed normal ilio-femoral anatomy and flow at all study time points. Gross pathology and histopathology revealed no evidence of deep vein thrombosis, and no abnormalities were seen in the vena cava, heart, or lungs. Histology at 30 days showed complete healing of the vein wall access site, with a small focus of chronic inflammation and fibrosis in the perivascular adventitial tissue of the access tract. There was no microscopic evidence of the sealant. The tissue tract showed mild discrete inflammation (foamy macrophages, lymphocytes, plasma cells) with microgranulomas centered on residual red cells in both treatment and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study characterizes the angiographic, ultrasound, and histopathology outcomes of femoral vein closure, and provides insight into the healing mechanisms following venotomy. The bio-resorptive role of MynxGrip extravascular sealant in achieving effective venous closure and preserved long-term vessel patency without venous thromboembolism is demonstrated.

Liquefaction necrosis of mitral annular calcification (LNMAC): review of pathology, prevalence, imaging and management: proposed diagnostic imaging criteria with detailed multi-modality and MRI image characterization.

Liquefactive necrosis within a large spheroid zone of mitral annular calcification (LNMAC) is an atypical but increasingly recognized variant of mitral annular calcification (MAC). Proposed MRI, echo, and CT imaging criteria for diagnosis of this unusual disease entity are discussed along with a review of the prognosis, histopathology, and management implications. A comprehensive ECHO, CT, and MRI imaging approach to diagnostic differentiation from other cardiac masses, allowing characterization of the differing components of this unusual lesion is emphasized. Differentiation from surrounding myocardium, and demonstration of peripheral ring type hyperenhancement, or hyperintense signal in the wall of this lesion, seen with specific inversion recovery MRI sequences is presented as a major diagnostic criterion. The relationship of these MRI image findings to underlying pathology is also discussed. An illustrative case vignette is provided for clinical reference.

Quadricuspid aortic valve with ruptured sinus of valsalva aneurysm to the right atrium.

A 32-year-old man with a sudden onset of chest pain and progressive dyspnea was found to have a ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm to the right atrium with an associated quadricuspid aortic valve. Echocardiographic and angiographic images are presented, with real time transthoracic 3D echo. The patient was successfully operated.