Extra Orbital Periocular Tuberculosis - A Rare Case Report.

Tuberculosis is a known bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and has varied clinical presentation. Though pulmonary from is the commonest, extra orbital form is a rare presentation of the same. Here we present a case of extra orbital tuberculosis in a young female, presenting as a painless swelling lateral to the lateral canthus of right eye, along with right preauricular lymphadenopathy. The mass was excised, sent for histopathological examination and culture of M. tuberculosis, which yielded positive results.

Effect of complex nutrients, amino acids, vitamins on Ni(II) biosorption from aqueous solution by Ni(II) resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae AJ208.

The paper aims to establish and enhance the microorganism's successful growth, proper activity, and biosorption potency for Ni(II) biosorption from an aqueous solution using 5,000 mg/l Ni(II) resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae AJ208. Complex nutrients, amino acids, and vitamins were added to the specifically optimized fermentation media as essential growth factors. Amino acids such as L-cysteine (0.0002 g/ml), L-Proline (0.0002 g/ml), L-Lysine (0.0002 g/ml), L-tryptophan (0.0001 g/ml) and L-Histidine (0.0003 g/ml) led to an increase of more than 87% biosorption. Vitamins such as, Ascorbic acids (0.01 × 10-8 g/ml), folic acids (0.01 × 10-8 g/ml), pyridoxine-HCl (0.01 × 10-8 g/ml),Thiamin-HCl (0.05 × 10-8 g/ml) promotes biosorption more than 91%. The Ni(II) bio-removal increased with complex nutrients like soybean meal, malt extract, and yeast extract at the concentration of 0.03, 0.4, 0.05 in g/ml, and nickel removal reached more than 85%. The multiple linear regression (MLR) and ANN application of the experimental data have predicted Ni(II) percentage removal well. This adsorption shows that the proposed Ni(II) removal process using complex nutrients is environmentally friendly and economically feasible.Novelty statement: This study evaluates a cost-effective approach to bioremediation of Ni(II) by using complex nutrients as a growth factor. Media enriched with complex nutrients is cheap than chemical media. Ni(II) Removal significant increased up to 87%, 88.34%, 96% with soybean meal, L-proline, and L-ascorbic acids at 3,000 mg/l initial Ni(II) concentration using newly developed 5,000 mg/l Ni(II) resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae AJ208 and their NCBI accession number: MZ027228 (AJ208 ITS 1) and MZ027229 (AJ208 ITS 2).

A Retrospective Comparative Study on the Outcome of Microscope-Assisted Technique and Supra-Auricular Approach in Preauricular Sinus Surgery in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Context: Preauricular sinus (PAS) can lead to severe complications such as facial paralysis, and squamous cell carcinoma may develop from this sinus later in life. Asymptomatic sinus needs no intervention, but symptomatic sinus needs surgical interventions. Aims: This study compares the surgical outcome of microscope-assisted sinus tract excision technique with the supra-auricular sinectomy technique. Settings and Design: This was a retrospective, observational study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Purulia District, West Bengal, India. Subjects and Methods: Records of patients operated on for PAS were included following the proper inclusion and exclusion criteria. These patients were categorized and followed up based on disease pathology and the type of intervention received. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were collected, tabulated, and analyzed using the standard statistical software. Results: Fifty-two patients were included in our study. About 48.07% of patients were found in the age group of 11-15 years. In the microscope-assisted sinectomy category, recurrence of the disease was seen in 2 out of 15 operated patients compared to 1 patient among 13 in the supra-auricular sinectomy approach for uncomplicated cases. In complicated cases, the supra-auricular sinectomy approach had a nil recurrence rate compared to three patients out of ten operated in microscope-assisted technique (Fisher's exact test - 0.0593). Both the outcomes are not statistically significant. Conclusion: Supra-auricular sinectomy technique has the lowest recurrence rate for preauricular sinus surgery.

Schwannoma in Soft Palate: A Rare Case Report with Review of Literature.

Schwannoma is a benign tumor originating from Schwann cells of the nerve sheath. Approximately 25-45% of the schwannomas are seen in the head and neck region and are found rarely in the oral cavity (only 1%). The most common intra-oral site is tongue, followed by floor of the mouth, buccal mucosa, palate, gingiva and lips. We report a rare case of schwannoma in the soft palate in a 22 years old female. She presented with 6 months history of a painless swelling in palate. The provisional diagnosis was made as some benign neoplasm of minor salivary gland. The tumour was excised intra-orally under general anesthesia. Histopathologic examination showed neural tissue arranged in predominantly Antoni A pattern and formation of verocay bodies. It is difficult to diagnose this tumor based on clinical appearance. Therefore final diagnosis can only be done after histopathological examination of the lesion. Prognosis is good and recurrence is unknown.

Development of Ni(II) resistant S. cerevisiae and its application: Adsorption study and modeling.

The study aims to develop Ni(II) resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae to decontaminate high Ni(II) concentrations from an aqueous system. Initially, two different microorganisms were taken: Bacillus circulans MTCC 3161, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. For these two strains, the experiments were carried out for successive screening for survival/tolerance, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and biosorption capacity for Ni(II) from an aqueous solution. Ni(II) resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae AJ208 showed a MIC of 5500 mg/L for Ni(II). Nucleotide sequences of Saccharomyces cerevisiae AJ208 were deposited in the Gene bank. All experiments were conducted to determine the effects of various physical conditions, such as pH, age and volume of inoculum, temperature, and incubation time, the volume of fermentation medium. The characterization of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae AJ208 was carried out using SEM-EDAX, FTIR. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models are well fitted with the experimental data. The Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity is 170.06 mg/g. The thermodynamic studies showed the mechanism of Ni(II) removal is an endothermic and spontaneous reaction. The experimental data have been analyzed using statistical method (MLR) and Genetic algorithm (GA). This study reports the highest Ni(II) resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae AJ208 (5000 mg/L) and also the feasibility of Ni(II) removal from 3000 mg/L initial Ni(II) concentration into an aqueous solution, which could be of great interest as a potential reference strain for Ni(II) removal.

Effect of dragon fruit peel powder on quality and acceptability of fish nuggets stored in a solar cooler (5 ± 1 °C).

Fish nuggets were prepared with dragon fruit peel powder (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% w/w) to evaluate its quality and improvement in shelf-life during 15 days storage in a prefabricated solar cooler (5 ± 1 °C). Antioxidative and antimicrobial effects of dragon fruit peel powder in fish model system were also evaluated during storage. Results showed that dragon fruit peel is a good source of dietary fibre (59.8%) and phenolic compounds [65.7 mg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/100 g of sample] and contained 6.03% protein, 6.14% fat and 4.34% ash. Use of dragon fruit peel powder significantly (p < 0.05) improved the emulsion stability and cooking yield and nuggets with peel powder had lower pH value than control. Fish nuggets with peel powder showed gradual decrease (p < 0.05) in hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness with advancement of storage period. Nuggets with 1.5% dragon fruit peel showed better sensory attributes compared to the others. Dragon fruit peel powder significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) the lipid oxidation and microbial load in fish nuggets during the storage period. So, it can be concluded that dragon fruit peel powder may be used as antioxidant dietary fibre for improved quality and acceptability of fish nuggets in prefabricated solar cooler. 1.5% level of incorporation showed better results in terms of antioxidant activity and better shelf-life of the fish nuggets.

Antibacterial, anti-biofilm, and anti-virulence potential of tea tree oil against leaf blight pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae instigates disease suppression.

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), causes major annual economic losses around the world. Inorganic copper compounds and antibiotics are conventionally used to control BLB disease. They often cause environmental pollution, contributing to adverse effects on human health. Therefore, research is now leading to the search for alternative control methods. Tea tree oil (TTO) is obtained from a traditional medicinal plant, Melaleuca alternifolia, with antibacterial properties. In this study, we found that TTO showed antibacterial activity against Xoo with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 18 mg/ml. These antagonistic activities were not limited only to planktonic cells, as further studies have shown that TTO effectively eradicated sessile cells of Xoo in both initial and mature biofilms. Furthermore, it was also observed that TTO reduced various key virulence properties of Xoo, such as swimming, swarming motility, and the production of extracellular polymeric substances, xanthomonadin, and exoenzymes. TTO triggered ROS generation with cell membrane damage as an antibacterial mode of action against Xoo. The in silico study revealed that 1,8-cineole of TTO was effectively bound to two essential proteins, phosphoglucomutase and peptide deformylase, responsible for the synthesis of EPS and bacterial survival, respectively. These antibacterial and anti-virulence activities of TTO against Xoo were further confirmed by an ex vivo virulence assay where TTO significantly reduced the lesion length caused by Xoo on rice leaves. All these data concluded that TTO could be a safe, environment-friendly alternative approach for the comprehensive management of BLB disease.

Rare presentations of ocular enterobiasis - Case reports.

Enterobius vermicularis, also known as pinworm or threadworm, is a large intestinal nematode which has a high prevalence among children and peripubertal age in our country. Transmission usually occurs by autoinfection like finger contamination of the embryonated eggs deposited by the gravid female worm on the perianal and perineal region. Globally, only a few reports are there regarding the isolation of the parasite from extra-intestinal sites. These are two rare case reports of ocular enterobiasis. The first case was a middle-aged female and the second one was a 14-year-old girl, both of whom were referred from other tertiary care hospitals to Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine and who presented with discharge of live motile worms from their eyes (conjunctiva). In both the cases, identification was done by saline wet mount and direct microscopy of a gravid female worm. Plano-convex embryonated eggs were also observed. The oval embryonated eggs, plano-convex in shape, and the gravid female, with its cervical alae near the anterior end and straight thin pointed tail, were identified under the microscope. Although E. vermicularis is a very common large intestinal parasitic infestation of children and adolescents, it can also rarely be isolated from unusual sites, which should be taken into account for effective diagnosis and treatment.

Pb(II) adsorption from aqueous solution by nutshells, green adsorbent: Adsorption studies, regeneration studies, scale-up design, its effect on biological indicator and MLR modeling.

In this paper, agricultural waste nutshells, such as walnut and almond shell, were utilized to treat Pb(II) containing aqueous solution. Lead(II) is a typical poisonous, commercial, water-pollutant, having multiple awful effects on the environment. The effluent of the different industrial wastewater cans is treated by using leftover and excess green waste. This finding is focused on the utilization of walnut and almond shells for Pb(II) removal. These green adsorbents are characterized using SEM, FTIR, pHpzc, and BET analyzer. The operating parameters are first optimized. The pseudo-2nd order kinetic, as well as the Langmuir isotherm model, have better applicability for both nutshells. Chemical sorption processes have been reported at higher temperatures, whereas at a lower temperature, it follows the physical sorption process. Elevated temperature helps to remove the metal ion more efficiently. The sorption process is spontaneous and endothermic for both nutshells. The desorption study shows that adsorbents can be used several times. Deadly effects of Pb(II) have been reported by the RBC count of Gallus gallus domesticus. It's been observed that the treated solution is somewhat less harmful. Application study using industrial effluent is successfully demonstrated. The scale-up design operation has been investigated. Statistical modeling has also been very successfully implemented using the data collected from the experiment. The study indicates that both nutshells have the potential for the removal of Pb(II).

Adsorptive removal of phenol from wastewater using guava tree bark.

The phenol removal by adsorption through the guava tree bark has been studied in this research. The surface characterizations of the guava tree bark were assessed through BET, FTIR, and SEM apparatus. The phenol removal percentage was investigated in batch experiments taking phenol content (30-150 mg/L), time (30-180 min), pH (4-9), adsorbent dose (1-6 g/L), and temperature (30-50 °C). The maximum percentage of phenol removal was obtained at 90.67% at the phenol concentration of 30 mg/L, the contact time of 120 min, pH of 7, adsorbent dose of 4 g/L, and temperature of 50 °C. The kinetic study indicated that the second-order was superior to the first order. The isotherm study exhibited that the Freundlich isotherm fitted best among the Langmuir, D-R (Dubinin-Radushkevich), and Temkin isotherms. The value of adsorption energy evaluated by the D-R isotherm supported physical adsorption; however, the mechanism seemed to be weaker since the correlation coefficient of the D-R model was found to be quite less than the correlation coefficients of other isotherm models. The adsorption mechanisms through film diffusion and chemisorption were well established as tested by the Reichenberg model, the Elovich model, the Fick model, the Furusawa and Smith model, and the Boyd model. The adsorption thermodynamics concluded that the adsorption method supported endothermic, random, and spontaneous. The scale-up design, the procedure for safe disposal of spent adsorbent, and the regeneration of the adsorbent were deliberated in this research. The research determined that the guava tree bark is suitable for the removal of phenol from wastewater.

Conidiobolomycosis: An Unusual Fungal Disease-Our Experience.

Conidiobolomycosis is a rare mycotic disease caused by Conidiobolus coronatus. Very few cases have been reported in English literature. Often it is clinically misdiagnosed as soft tissue tumour. A prospective case study was done from 2006 to 2015 in a tertiary care hospital of West Bengal, India. The objectives of our study were to describe the epidemiological and clinical features and treatment of Conidiobolomycosis to prevent disfigurement. Patients clinically suspected to be suffering from Conidiobolomycosis were subjected to biopsy followed by histopathological and mycological examinations. Then they were treated with oral saturated solution of potassium iodide along with other drugs. Total six cases were histopathologically proved to be suffering from Conidiobolomycosis. Fungus was isolated and identified in one case. Complete resolution was seen in five patients. Conidiobolomycosis should be brought into mind as differential diagnosis of subcutaneous swelling in the rhinofacial region.

Series of Atypical Rhinosporidiosis: Our Experience in Western Part of West Bengal.

Rhinosporidiosis is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi. It usually presents as sessile or pedunculated granular polyp, red in colour with multiple yellowish pin-head sized dots. Atypical presentations due to involvement of extra-nasal sites may produce diagnostic dilemma. Very high incidence of rhinosporidiosis and that too with atypical presentations in the rural western part of West Bengal, encourages us to undertake this study. The present study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in the rural western part of West Bengal from July 2013 to December 2016. Patients presenting with rhinosporidiosis in extra-nasal sites and with atypical presentations were included in the study. Rhinosporidiosis confined to nose and patients who lost follow up were excluded from the study. All patients were treated with wide excision and cauterization of base. Among total 114 patients of rhinosporidiosis, 16 had atypical presentations (14.04%). Nine patients (56.25%) presented with a mass hanging in the oropharynx, some mimicking oropharyngeal malignancy. Two patients (12.50%) presented with acute respiratory distress and stridor. One patient (6.25%) presented with disseminated rhinosporidiosis with involvement of the skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, bone, penis and urethra. Recurrence was noted in only two patients (12.50%) in nasopharynx. This chronic disease may present with different acute presentations. Proper clinical eye may avoid pre-operative biopsy which may lead to extensive bleeding. Recurrence can be reduced with meticulous and complete removal. Regular post-operative follow-up with endoscopy is must to detect and treat early recurrence.

Cu(II) removal using green adsorbents: kinetic modeling and plant scale-up design.

Cu(II) adsorption in continuous column using green adsorbents like peanut and almond shell was investigated. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Brunaer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Point of Zero charge (pHpzc) determination have been used for characterization of the adsorbents. Experiments were conducted at various operating conditions to calculate the adsorption capacity of the adsorbents. Adsorption studies signify that both the adsorbents have good adsorptive capacity for Cu(II) ion. Equilibrium of adsorption was described using Langmuir isotherm and the highest qmax value for both the adsorbent were obtained at an operating condition of 20 ml/min flow rate, 15 mg/L influent Cu(II) concentration, and 7 cm bed depth. Regeneration of both the adsorbents suggests that these adsorbents can be used several times for Cu(II) removal. Seven different kinetic models were tested among which the modified dose response model was fitted well for peanut shell and the Thomas model was fitted well for almond shell. These fitted models were further used for scale-up design. Regeneration studies show that peanut shell and almond shell are useful up to the fifth adsorption cycle. Application of these adsorbents with industrial effluent was also reported. This study reveals that peanut and almond shells can be used for Cu(II) removal for industrial wastewater.

Biosorption of chromium (VI) from aqueous solutions and ANN modelling.

The use of sustainable, green and biodegradable natural wastes for Cr(VI) detoxification from the contaminated wastewater is considered as a challenging issue. The present research is aimed to assess the effectiveness of seven different natural biomaterials, such as jackfruit leaf, mango leaf, onion peel, garlic peel, bamboo leaf, acid treated rubber leaf and coconut shell powder, for Cr(VI) eradication from aqueous solution by biosorption process. Characterizations were conducted using SEM, BET and FTIR spectroscopy. The effects of operating parameters, viz., pH, initial Cr(VI) ion concentration, adsorbent dosages, contact time and temperature on metal removal efficiency, were studied. The biosorption mechanism was described by the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm model. The biosorption process was exothermic, spontaneous and chemical (except garlic peel) in nature. The sequence of adsorption capacity was mango leaf > jackfruit leaf > acid treated rubber leaf > onion peel > bamboo leaf > garlic peel > coconut shell with maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of 35.7 mg g-1 for mango leaf. The treated effluent can be reused. Desorption study suggested effective reuse of the adsorbents up to three cycles, and safe disposal method of the used adsorbents suggested biodegradability and sustainability of the process by reapplication of the spent adsorbent and ultimately leading towards zero wastages. The performances of the adsorbents were verified with wastewater from electroplating industry. The scale-up study reported for industrial applications. ANN modelling using multilayer perception with gradient descent (GD) and Levenberg-Marquart (LM) algorithm had been successfully used for prediction of Cr(VI) removal efficiency. The study explores the undiscovered potential of the natural waste materials for sustainable existence of small and medium sector industries, especially in the third world countries by protecting the environment by eco-innovation.

Comparative study of adsorptive removal of Cr(VI) ion from aqueous solution in fixed bed column by peanut shell and almond shell using empirical models and ANN.

Cr(VI) is a toxic water pollutant, which causes cancer and mutation in living organisms. Adsorption has become the most preferred method for removal of Cr(VI) due to its high efficiency and low cost. Peanut and almond shells were used as adsorbents in downflow fixed bed continuous column operation for Cr(VI) removal. The experiments were carried out to scrutinise the adsorptive capacity of the peanut shells and almond shells, as well as to find out the effect of various operating parameters such as column bed depth (5-10 cm), influent flow rate (10-22 ml min-1) and influent Cr(VI) concentration (10-20 mg L-1) on the Cr(VI) removal. The fixed bed column operation for Cr(VI) adsorption the equilibrium was illustrated by Langmuir isotherm. Different well-known mathematical models were applied to the experimental data to identify the best-fitted model to explain the bed dynamics. Prediction of the bed dynamics by Yan et al. model was found to be satisfactory. Applicability of artificial neural network (ANN) modelling is also reported. An ANN modelling of multilayer perceptron with gradient descent and Levenberg-Marquardt algorithms have also been tried to predict the percentage removal of Cr(VI). This study indicates that these adsorbents have an excellent potential and are useful for water treatment particularly small- and medium-sized industries of third world countries. Almond shell represents better adsorptive capacity as breakthrough time and exhaustion time are longer in comparison to peanut shell.

Removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution using water hyacinth root by fixed-bed column and ANN modeling.

Hyacinth root was used as a biosorbent for generating adsorption data in fixed-bed glass column. The influence of different operating parameters like inlet Pb(II) ion concentration, liquid flow rate and bed height on the breakthrough curves and the performance of the column was studied. The result showed that the adsorption efficiency increased with increase in bed height and decreased with increase in inlet Pb(II) ion concentration and flow rate. Increasing the flow rate resulted in shorter time for bed saturation. The result showed that as the bed height increased the availability of more number of adsorption sites in the bed increased, hence the throughput volume of the aqueous solution also increased. The adsorption kinetics was analyzed using different models. It was observed that maximum adsorption capacity increased with increase in flow rate and initial Pb(II) ion concentration but decreased with increase in bed height. Applicability of artificial neural network (ANN) modeling for the prediction of Pb(II) ion removal was also reported by using multilayer perceptron with backpropagation, Levenberg-Marquardt and scaled conjugate algorithms and four different transfer functions in a hidden layer and a linear output transfer function.

Adsorptive removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution and industrial effluent using natural/agricultural wastes.

The potentiality of low cost natural/agricultural waste biomasses for the removal of Cu(II) ion from aqueous solution has been investigated in batch experiments. The effect of various physico-chemical parameters such as initial pH, initial Cu(II) concentration, adsorbent dosage, contact time and temperature has been studied. The optimum pH for adsorption was found to be 6 for all adsorbents used. Kinetics data were best described by the pseudo-2nd-order model. The experimental data were fitted well with Freundlich and Halsey isotherm models. The diffusion coefficient and sorption energy indicated that the adsorption process was chemical in nature. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS° were calculated, and it was observed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The mean sorption energy was calculated using Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm model and it confirmed that the sorption process was chemical in nature. Different active functional groups were identified by FTIR studies which were responsible for Cu(II) ion adsorption process. Application study using electroplating industrial waste water and regeneration experiment of the adsorbent were also investigated. Design procedure for the batch process was also reported.

Nucleotide sequencing and identification of some wild mushrooms.

The rDNA-ITS (Ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacers) fragment of the genomic DNA of 8 wild edible mushrooms (collected from Eastern Chota Nagpur Plateau of West Bengal, India) was amplified using ITS1 (Internal Transcribed Spacers 1) and ITS2 primers and subjected to nucleotide sequence determination for identification of mushrooms as mentioned. The sequences were aligned using ClustalW software program. The aligned sequences revealed identity (homology percentage from GenBank data base) of Amanita hemibapha [CN (Chota Nagpur) 1, % identity 99 (JX844716.1)], Amanita sp. [CN 2, % identity 98 (JX844763.1)], Astraeus hygrometricus [CN 3, % identity 87 (FJ536664.1)], Termitomyces sp. [CN 4, % identity 90 (JF746992.1)], Termitomyces sp. [CN 5, % identity 99 (GU001667.1)], T. microcarpus [CN 6, % identity 82 (EF421077.1)], Termitomyces sp. [CN 7, % identity 76 (JF746993.1)], and Volvariella volvacea [CN 8, % identity 100 (JN086680.1)]. Although out of 8 mushrooms 4 could be identified up to species level, the nucleotide sequences of the rest may be relevant to further characterization. A phylogenetic tree is constructed using Neighbor-Joining method showing interrelationship between/among the mushrooms. The determined nucleotide sequences of the mushrooms may provide additional information enriching GenBank database aiding to molecular taxonomy and facilitating its domestication and characterization for human benefits.

Removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution and industrial effluent using natural biosorbents.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the research is to investigate the applicability of the low-cost natural biosorbents for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution and effluent from battery industry. METHODS: Six different biosorbents namely rice straw, rice bran, rice husk, coconut shell, neem leaves, and hyacinth roots have been used for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution in batch process. All the biosorbents were collected from local area near Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The removal efficiency was determined in batch experiments for each biosorbent. RESULTS: The biosorbents were characterized by SEM, FTIR, surface area, and point of zero charge. The sorption kinetic data was best described by pseudo-second-order model for all the biosorbents except rice husk which followed intraparticle diffusion model. Pb(II) ions adsorption process for rice straw, rice bran, and hyacinth roots were governed predominately by film diffusion, but in the case of rice husk, it was intraparticle diffusion. Film diffusion and intraparticle diffusion were equally responsible for the biosorption process onto coconut shell and neem leaves. The values of mass transfer coefficient indicated that the velocity of the adsorbate transport from the bulk to the solid phase was quite fast for all cases. Maximum monolayer sorption capacities onto the six natural sorbents studied were estimated from the Langmuir sorption model and compared with other natural sorbents used by other researchers. The Elovich model, the calculated values of effective diffusivity, and the sorption energy calculated by using the Dubinin­Radushkevich isotherm were indicated that the sorption process was chemical in nature. The thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption processes were endothermic. FTIR studies were carried out to understand the type of functional groups responsible for Pb(II) ions binding process. Regeneration of biosorbents were carried out by desorption studies using HNO3. Battery industry effluents were used for the application study to investigate applicability of the biosorbents. CONCLUSION: The biosorbents can be utilized as low-cost sorbents for the removal of Pb(II) ions from wastewater.

Foreign bodies in bronchus--2 years experience at IPGME&R, Kolkata.

Foreign body in the bronchus is one of the life saving emergency in the ENT department. Most patients of foreign body bronchus are kids. Common presentation is respiratory distress or noisy respiration of sudden onset. Proper clinical examination and suspicion needed for proper diagnosis. In this report, 52 cases of foreign body bronchus were included. All patients underwent straight x-ray chest after taking proper history and while aroused suspicion. All of them received antibiotic and steroid. Foreign body was removed by rigid bronchoscope, flexible bronchoscope and by rigid telescope along with rigid bronchoscope. Most foreign bodies lodged in the left bronchus. Only one patient had died in the process for anaesthetic hazards.