Techno-environmental analysis to valorize the secondary energy resources from refuse-derived fuel-based waste to energy plant.

The present study quantifies the environmental and sustainability impacts associated with municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in India which plays a vital environmental issue in recent times. The upsurge in population has resulted in massive waste generation, leading to a concerning rise in the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, the sustainable management of MSW has been discussed and highlights the conversion of MSW into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) to identify its potential for generating electricity in waste-to-energy (WtE) plants. The life cycle assessment (LCA) study has been done to identify and compare the environmental impacts associated with different scenarios (SC) as SC1: landfilling without energy recovery, SC2: open burning and SC3: processing of RDF in WtE plant by considering the nine impact categories from the inventory data obtained over a period of 12 consecutive months (Jan 2021-Jan 2022). The results exhibited that the global warming potential caused by emissions of GHG are in the order of SC1 (1188 kg CO2 eq) > SC2 (752 kg CO2 eq) > SC3 (332 kg CO2 eq), respectively from 1 t of MSW. It is concluded that the WtE plant can help in the reduction of environmental issues, strengthening the capacity of electricity generation and improving the aesthetic view of the city which is socially acceptable as well. Thus, WtE technology can help in achieving sustainable development goal 12 to regenerate the sustainable secondary resources for the twenty-first century and minimize global climate change.

Spatial Epidemiology of Signet-ring Cell Colorectal Cancer in India.

Background: Signet-ring cell colorectal carcinoma (SRCC) is an extremely aggressive yet uncommon histologic subtype of colorectal cancer (CRC) with an unknown etiology. There is a stark difference in the prevalence of signet cancers between Western countries and the Indian subcontinent; however, India itself is a vast and diverse country with variable cancer incidence. Objective: To study the spatial epidemiology of SRCC in India for identifying regions with high prevalence. Methods: This retrospective study included all patients diagnosed with colorectal adenocarcinoma at Tata Memorial Hospital, the largest colorectal cancer referral unit in India, between January 2020 and December 2022. Geocoding based on the location of the residence was done to map the incidences. Comparisons were performed between the proportion of signet cell and non-signet colorectal cancers. Results: A total of 4100 patients with colon or rectal adenocarcinomas were included, of which signet cell histology was found in 624 (15%) patients. SRCC accounted for the highest proportions of CRCs in the Central (19%) and Northern (19%) regions, and the lowest in the North-Eastern (10%) and Western (12%) regions of India (P < 0.001), with non-overlapping confidence intervals. Compared with patients with non-signet CRCs, those with SRCC more commonly had colon cancers (22% vs. 17%; P = 0.003) and belonged to a lower socioeconomic background (67% vs. 59%; P < 0.001). Conclusions: This study found that SRCCs accounted for a significant proportion of CRC cases in India, but there was no substantial disparity in distribution across regions.

COVID-19 in Hemodialysis Patients: Experience from a Western Indian Center.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis (CKD-5D) are among the worst hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Need to travel for dialysis, comorbidities, and immunosuppressive state put them at risk of severe disease and poor outcomes. We report our experience of COVID-19 in a cohort of CKD-5D from a public sector tertiary-care center from western India. Material and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of 58 CKD-5D patients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to our COVID-19 hospital. Suspected COVID-19, acute kidney injury (AKI), or AKI on CKD were excluded. We studied the clinical, demographic, radiological, and laboratory profiles; treatment; and outcomes of the patients. We assessed the potential clinical and laboratory parameters to predict mortality. Results: The mean age of the patients was 48.7 ± 16.9 years, with 55% males. Comorbidities included hypertension (65%), diabetes (19%), and cardiovascular disease (15.5%). The presenting features included fever (69%), respiratory distress (50%), upper respiratory symptoms (36%), and diarrhea (13%). Five (8.6%) were asymptomatic. Bilateral infiltrates on chest imaging were the commonest radiological pattern. The patients were managed with oxygenation, hydroxychloroquine, steroids, anticoagulation, remdesivir, and favipiravir. Twenty-two (37.9%) patients died, predominantly due to respiratory failure. Disease severity and C-reactive protein (CRP) above 175 mg/L at admission were the only parameters predictive of mortality. Conclusion: CKD-5D patients with COVID-19 were less likely to present with the classical syndrome of fever and respiratory distress compared with reports from the general population and had higher mortality. Only disease severity and high CRP (>175 mg/L) were predictive of mortality in our cohort.

Longitudinal Stability of Rapid and Slow Maxillary Expansion: A Systematic Review.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To review the long-term stability of slow maxillary expansion (SME) and rapid maxillary expansion (RME). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic review of literature was carried out on the principal medical databases. Cephalometric studies, measurements on the dental casts, retrospective, cohort studies were kept as inclusion criteria. Last 20 years articles were included in the study. The studies where expansion had been performed by any one of the methods of expansion; that is, SME and RME were accepted. Studies where posttreatment follow-up had been performed were included. Selected articles were independently evaluated by three researchers. Discrepancies were resolved by discussion to reach a common consensus. RESULTS: Total of 151 articles were first shown as relevant articles but after sorting the article according to relevancy in a stepwise manner 12 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were incorporated in the study finally. In the study, nine prospective and three retrospective studies which had followed patients after maxillary expansion from 2 to 15 years were included. CONCLUSION: Correction with slow and rapid palatal expansion appears to be stable in the long-term when followed for extended periods after expansion treatment. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The article clearly describes the effectiveness of the expansion treatment and its longitudinal stability in terms of relapse by providing various evidences from the literature which were sought after systematically searching the different electronic databases.

A novel alkaline keratinase from Bacillus subtilis DP1 with potential utility in cosmetic formulation.

The Bacillus subtilis DP1 was isolated from poultry farm soil at Anand district, India. The highest enzyme production (379.65U/ml) was obtained at pH 10.0, a temperature of 37°C and a growth period of 72h. The extracellular keratinase was purified by gel filtration chromatography with 27.98 purification fold. Purity was also confirmed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis, where a major peak having retention time of 2.5min was obtained on C18 column using photo diode array detector. Purified keratinase was stable in a broad range of pH (8-12) and temperature (20-50°C) with optimum at pH 10.0 and 37°C. The metallic ions, Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) enhance keratinase activity. Secondary structure from Circular Dichroism (CD) spectra implies that purified keratinase is largely ß-pleated sheet rich protein. For preparation of dehairing cream formulation, compatibility studies of excipients were carried out. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of sodium stearate, calcium carbonate and sodium lauryl sulphate shows no reactivity of functional groups and hence mixture was compatible for formulation of keratinase dehairing cream. Prepared biological depilatory was able to remove hair more efficiently compared to marketed formulations.

Tail ordering due to headgroup hydrogen bonding interactions in surfactant monolayers at the water-oil interface.

Interactions between surfactants, and the resultant ordering of surfactant assemblies, can be tuned by the appropriate choice of head- and tailgroups. Detailed studies of the ordering of monolayers of long-chain n-alkanoic and n-alkanol monolayers at the water-vapor interface have demonstrated that rigid-rod all-trans ordering of the tailgroups is maintained upon replacing the alcohol with a carboxylic acid headgroup. In contrast, at the water-hexane liquid-liquid interface, we demonstrate that substitution of the -CH(2)OH with the -COOH headgroup produces a major conformational change of the tailgroup from disordered to ordered. This is demonstrated by the electron density profiles of triacontanol (CH(3)(CH(2))(29)OH) and triacontanoic acid (CH(3)(CH(2))(28)COOH) monolayers at the water-hexane interface, as determined by X-ray reflectivity measurements. Molecular dynamics simulations illustrate the presence of hydrogen bonding between the triacontanoic acid headgroups that is likely responsible for the tail ordering. A simple free energy illustrates the interplay between the attractive hydrogen bonding and the ordering of the tailgroup.

Thermal resistance of nanoscopic liquid-liquid interfaces: dependence on chemistry and molecular architecture.

Systems with nanoscopic features contain a high density of interfaces. Thermal transport in such systems can be governed by the resistance to heat transfer, the Kapitza resistance (RK), at the interface. Although soft interfaces, such as those between immiscible liquids or between a biomolecule and solvent, are ubiquitous, few studies of thermal transport at such interfaces have been reported. Here we characterize the interfacial conductance, 1/RK, of soft interfaces as a function of molecular architecture, chemistry, and the strength of cross-interfacial intermolecular interactions through detailed molecular dynamics simulations. The conductance of various interfaces studied here, for example, water-organic liquid, water-surfactant, surfactant-organic liquid, is relatively high (in the range of 65-370 MW/m2 K) compared to that for solid-liquid interfaces ( approximately 10 MW/m2 K). Interestingly, the dependence of interfacial conductance on the chemistry and molecular architecture cannot be explained solely in terms of either bulk property mismatch or the strength of intermolecular attraction between the two phases. The observed trends can be attributed to a combination of strong cross-interface intermolecular interactions and good thermal coupling via soft vibration modes present at liquid-liquid interfaces.

Mesoscale model of polymer melt structure: self-consistent mapping of molecular correlations to coarse-grained potentials.

Development and application of coarse-graining methods to condensed phases of macromolecules is an active area of research. Multiscale modeling of polymeric systems using coarse-graining methods presents unique challenges. Here we apply a coarse-graining method that self-consistently maps structural correlations from detailed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of alkane oligomers onto coarse-grained potentials using a combination of MD and inverse Monte Carlo methods. Once derived, the coarse-grained potentials allow computationally efficient sampling of ensemble of conformations of significantly longer polyethylene chains. Conformational properties derived from coarse-grained simulations are in excellent agreement with experiments. The level of coarse graining provides a control over the balance of computational efficiency and retention of chemical identity of the underlying polymeric system. Challenges to extension and application of this and similar structure-based coarse-graining methods to model dynamics and phase behavior in polymeric systems are briefly discussed.

Clinical deterioration in pediatric asthmatic patients after September 11, 2001.

BACKGROUND: New York City residents were exposed to a variety of inhaled substances after the collapse of the World Trade Center. Exposure to these substances might lead to an increase in asthma severity, with residential distance from Ground Zero predictive of the degree of change. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the effect of the World Trade Center collapse on local pediatric asthmatic patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 205 pediatric patients with established asthma from a clinic in lower Manhattan's Chinatown. Clinical data were obtained for the year before and the year after September 11, 2001. Measurements included numbers of visits, asthma medication prescriptions, oral corticosteroid prescriptions, weekly doses of rescue inhaler, and peak expiratory flow rates. Residential zip codes were used to compare the asthma severity of patients living within and beyond a 5-mile radius of Ground Zero. RESULTS: After September 11, 2001, these children had more asthma-related clinic visits (P = .002) and received more prescriptions for asthma medications (P = .018). No significant differences in oral steroid or rescue inhaler use were noted. Those living within 5 miles had more clinic visits after September 11, 2001 (P = .013); the increase in clinic visits for patients living more than 5 miles from Ground Zero was not significant. Mean percent predicted peak expiratory flow rates decreased solely for those patients living within 5 miles of Ground Zero during the 3 months after September 11, 2001. CONCLUSIONS: Asthma severity worsened after September 11, 2001, in pediatric asthmatic patients living near Ground Zero. Residential proximity to Ground Zero was predictive of the degree of decrease in asthma health.