The adverse effects of solid biomass fuel exposure on lung functions in non-smoking female population.

Background: Though, smoking is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease worldwide, the household air pollution due to use of solid biomass fuel is considered as a major risk factor for the development of obstructive lung disease. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of solid biomass fuel exposure on lung functions in non-smoking female population. Methods: A hospital based, descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among 140 non-smoking female patients aged 40 or more and who had been exposed to solid biomass fuel. These patients underwent spirometry to assess their lung function and were classified as obstructive, restrictive or mixed. Modified medical research council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale for symptom assessment, 6-minute walk test (6 MWT) to determine the exercise capacity and Cumulative exposure index to assess the duration of exposure were also done. Results: All 140 (100%) patients having abnormal lung function, 4 (2.86%) had restrictive pattern, 5 (3.57%) had mixed pattern and 131 (93.57%) had obstructive pattern. Of 131 patients having obstructive pattern, 11 had mild obstruction, 49 had moderate obstruction, 39 had severe obstruction and 32 had very severe obstruction. Most commonly used biomass fuel was wood (43.57%). All the patients had shortness of breath, whereas cough was present in only 35.71% cases. 77 (55%) patients presented with a dyspnoea of mMRC grade 3 and above. Conclusion: Cumulative exposure index for solid biomass fuel is directly proportional to the severity of lung impairment as well as the symptom severity.

Sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly for discovering regulators of gene expression in Jack (Artocarpus heterophyllus).

Jack (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is a multipurpose fruit-tree species with minimal genomic resources. The study reports developing comprehensive transcriptome data containing 80,411 unigenes with an N50 value of 1265 bp. We predicted 64,215 CDSs from the unigenes and annotated and functionally categorized them into the biological process (23,230), molecular function (27,149), and cellular components (17,284). From 80,411 unigenes, we discovered 16,853 perfect SSRs with 192 distinct repeat motif types reiterating 4 to 22 times. Besides, we identified 2741 TFs from 69 TF families, 53 miRNAs from 19 conserved miRNA families, 25,953 potential lncRNAs, and placed three functional eTMs in different lncRNA-miRNA pairs. The regulatory networks involving genes, TFs, and miRNAs identified several regulatory and regulated nodes providing insight into miRNAs' gene associations and transcription factor-mediated regulation. The comparison of expression patterns of some selected miRNAs vis-à-vis their corresponding target genes showed an inverse relationship indicating the possible miRNA-mediated regulation of the genes.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticle for the selective and sensitive colorimetric detection of mercury (II) ion.

An ecofriendly and zero cost approach has been developed for the photoinduced synthesis of more stable AgNPs using an aqueous extract of Murraya koenigii (AEM) as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The exposed reaction mixture of AEM and AgNO3 to sunlight turned dark brown which primarily confirmed the biosynthesis of AgNPs. The biosynthesis was monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy which exhibited a sharp SPR band at 430nm after 30min of sunlight exposure. The optimum conditions for biosynthesis of AgNPs were 30min of sunlight exposure, 2.0% (v/v) of AEM inoculuam dose and 4.0mM AgNO3 concentration. TEM analysis confirmed the presence of spherical AgNPs with average size 8.6nm. The crystalline nature of the AgNPs was confirmed by XRD analysis where the Bragg's diffraction pattern at (111), (200), (220) and (311) corresponded to face centered cubic crystal lattice of metallic silver. The surface texture was analyzed by AFM analysis where the average roughness of the synthesized AgNPs was found 1.8nm. FTIR analysis was recorded between 4000 and 400cm-1 which confirmed the involvement of various functional groups in the synthesis of AgNPs. On the basis of the linear relationship between SPR band intensity and different concentration of Hg2+, the synthesized AgNPs can be used for colorimetric detection of Hg2+ with a linear range from 50nm to 500µM. Based on experimental findings, an oxidation-reduction mechanism between AgNPs and Hg2+ was also proposed.

Photo-mediated optimized synthesis of silver nanoparticles for the selective detection of Iron(III), antibacterial and antioxidant activity.

The AgNPs synthesized by green method have shown great potential in several applications such as biosensing, biomedical, catalysis, electronic etc. The present study deals with the selective colorimetric detection of Fe3+ using photoinduced green synthesized AgNPs. For the synthesis purpose, an aqueous extract of Croton bonplandianum (AEC) was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The biosynthesis was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy where an SPR band at λmax 436nm after 40s and 428nm after 30min corresponded to the existence of AgNPs. The optimum conditions for biosynthesis of AgNPs were 30min sunlight exposure time, 5.0% (v/v) AEC inoculum dose and 4mM AgNO3 concentration. The stability of synthesized AgNPs was monitored up to 9months. The size and shape of AgNPs with average size 19.4nm were determined by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM). The crystallinity was determined by High-Resolution X-ray Diffractometer (HR-XRD) and Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) pattern. The chemical and elemental compositions were determined by Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) respectively. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) images represented the lateral and 3D topological characteristics of AgNPs. The XPS analysis confirmed the presence of two individual peaks which attributed to the Ag 3d3/2 and Ag 3d5/2 binding energies corresponding to the presence of metallic silver. The biosynthesized AgNPs showed potent antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains as well as antioxidant activity. On the basis of results and facts, a probable mechanism was also proposed to explore the possible route of AgNPs synthesis, colorimetric detection of Fe3+, antibacterial and antioxidant activity.

Photoinduced green synthesis of silver nanoparticles with highly effective antibacterial and hydrogen peroxide sensing properties.

In this study, an eco-friendly and sustainable green route was employed for the synthesis of stable silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous leaf extract of Euphorbia hirta (AEE) as both reducing as well as a stabilizing agent. The synthesis of AgNPs was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy which produced a prominent SPR band at λmax 425nm after 25min of sunlight exposure. The AgNPs thus synthesized were optimized using one factor at a time approach, and these optimized conditions were 25min of sunlight exposure time, 5.0% (v/v) of AEE inoculum dose and 3.0mM of AgNO3 concentration. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) analysis confirmed the presence of spherical AgNPs with average size 15.5nm. The crystallinity was determined by X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) and Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) pattern. Chemical and elemental compositions were determined by Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) respectively. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) images with average roughness 1.15nm represented the lateral and 3D topological characteristic of AgNPs. The AgNPs thus synthesized showed effective antibacterial activity against gram negative and gram positive bacteria as well as hydrogen peroxide sensing property with a minimum detection limit of 10(-7)M.

Photo-induced biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous extract of Erigeron bonariensis and its catalytic activity against Acridine Orange.

The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has reduced the pollution load in the environment to a greater extent by avoiding the use of hazardous chemicals. In the present work we have developed an ecofriendly and zero cost approach for the green synthesis of more stable and spherical AgNPs using aqueous extract of Erigeron bonariensis (AEE) which act as both reducing and stabilizing agent. The reaction of AEE and AgNO3 was carried out in direct sunlight for the instant biosynthesis of AgNPs within minutes. The biosynthesis was monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy which exhibited a sharp SPR band at 442 nm and 435 nm after 5 and 35 min of sunlight exposure. The optimum conditions for biosynthesis of AgNPs were found to be 2.5mM AgNO3 concentration, 1.5% (v/v) of AEE inoculum dose and 35 min of sunlight exposure. Presence of spherical AgNPs with average size 13 nm was confirmed by SEM and TEM analysis. The XRD and SAED analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of the AgNPs where the Bragg's diffraction pattern at (111), (200), (220) and (311) corresponded to face centered cubic crystal lattice of metallic silver. The average roughness of the synthesized AgNPs was 3.21 nm which was confirmed by AFM analysis. FTIR analysis was recorded between 4000 and 400 cm(-1) which confirmed the involvement of various functional groups in the synthesis of AgNPs. The AgNPs thus obtained showed catalytic activity towards degradation of Acridine Orange (AO) without involvement of any hazardous reducing agent. The concentration dependent catalytic activity of the synthesized AgNPs was also monitored using 1, 2 and 3 mL of silver colloids and was found that the degradation of AO followed pseudo first-order kinetics.