Extraction and Quantification of Bisphenol-A Level in Infant Polycarbonate Feeding Bottles using High Performance Liquid Chromatography Technique

Polycarbonate plastics (PC) containing bisphenol A (BPA) are used for the production of infant feeding bottles, food storage containers, kitchen utensils and some components of medical devices. Trace amount of BPA have been reported in water and food products kept in PC containers. The leaching of bisphenol A from new and used polycarbonate feeding bottles into 10% ethanol (EU regulated simulant) and hot water was investigated using HPLC analysis. The bottles were filled to the corresponding nominal volumes with 10% ethanol, allowed to stand for 24hours and with boiled HPLC grade water for 2hours at 40°C, followed by extraction with ethyl acetate. The results indicated the release of high amount of BPA from new feeding bottles than the previously used ones. The BPA leachate in 10% ethanol was within the range of 20-61ng/mL and 14.13-27.30ng/mL in new and used bottle respectively, while the range in hot water was 12.53-92.65 ng/mL and 7.81-55.02ng/mL in new and used bottles respectively. The validation parameters were Limit Of Detection: 1.14 ng/mL, Limit Of Quantification: 3.80 ng/mL, while the percent recovery for spiked samples and efficiency of the extraction procedure were 98 –103 % and %RSD ranged between 2.00 – 5.61%.The estimated tolerable daily intake(TDI) using the average BPA leachate in boiled water has exceeded the new revised TDI of 4μg/kgbw/day established by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin Transformations and the Fermion Propagator in Quantum Electrodynamics

We study the gauge covariance of the massive fermion propagator in three as well as four dimensional Quantum Electrodynamics (QED). Starting from its value at the lowest order in perturbation theory, we evaluate a non-perturbative expression for it by means of its Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin (LKF) transformation. We compare the perturbative expansion of our findings with the known one loop results and observe perfect agreement upto a gauge parameter independent term, a difference permitted by the structure of the LKF transformations.Comment: 9 pages, no figures, uses revte

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010–19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. METHODS: The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk–outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. FINDINGS: Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4·45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4·01–4·94) deaths and 105 million (95·0–116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44·4% (41·3–48·4) of all cancer deaths and 42·0% (39·1–45·6) of all DALYs. There were 2·88 million (2·60–3·18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50·6% [47·8–54·1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1·58 million (1·36–1·84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36·3% [32·5–41·3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20·4% (12·6–28·4) and DALYs by 16·8% (8·8–25·0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34·7% [27·9–42·8] and 33·3% [25·8–42·0]). INTERPRETATION: The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Study of the doubly charmed tetraquark T+cc

Quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong force, describes interactions of coloured quarks and gluons and the formation of hadronic matter. Conventional hadronic matter consists of baryons and mesons made of three quarks and quark-antiquark pairs, respectively. Particles with an alternative quark content are known as exotic states. Here a study is reported of an exotic narrow state in the D0D0π+ mass spectrum just below the D*+D0 mass threshold produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The state is consistent with the ground isoscalar T+cc tetraquark with a quark content of ccu⎯⎯⎯d⎯⎯⎯ and spin-parity quantum numbers JP = 1+. Study of the DD mass spectra disfavours interpretation of the resonance as the isovector state. The decay structure via intermediate off-shell D*+ mesons is consistent with the observed D0π+ mass distribution. To analyse the mass of the resonance and its coupling to the D*D system, a dedicated model is developed under the assumption of an isoscalar axial-vector T+cc state decaying to the D*D channel. Using this model, resonance parameters including the pole position, scattering length, effective range and compositeness are determined to reveal important information about the nature of the T+cc state. In addition, an unexpected dependence of the production rate on track multiplicity is observed

Cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effects of Abrus precatorius L. on human metastatic breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231

Abrus precatorius is highly regarded as a universal panacea in the herbal medicine with diverse pharmacological activity spectra. This experimental study on the mechanism of the anticancer activity of A. precatorius leaf extracts, may offer new evidence for A. precatorius in the treatment of breast cancer in clinical practice. Cell death was determined by using MTT assay. Further analyses were carried out by doing DNA laddering, PARP cleavage, FACS, semi-quantitative RT-PCR and detection of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) by DCFDA assay. A. precatorius showed very striking inhibition on MDA-MB-231 cells. MTT assay showed more than 75 inhibition of the cells and treated cells indicated visible laddering pattern with thick compact band. PARP cleavage produced 89 kDa cleavage product which was associated with apoptosis. Flow cytometer exhibited a sub-G0/G1 peak as an indicative of apoptosis. mRNA expression level of apoptosis-related genes p21 and p53 was markedly increased in cells treated with the extract as compared to control. The up-regulation of p21 and p53 may be the molecular mechanisms by which A. precatorius extract which induces apoptosis. An increase in the concentration of A. precatorius extract does not generate ROS, instead it reduces ROS formation in MDA-MB-231 cells, as evident from the shift in fluorescence below untreated control. This is the first report showing that A. precatorius leaf extract exhibits a growth inhibitory effect by induction of apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. Our results contribute towards validation of the A. precatorius extract as a potentially effective chemopreventive or therapeutic agent against breast cancer. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Polyaniline based magnesium nanoferrite composites as efficient photocatalystfor the photodegradation of indigo carmine in aqueous solutions

The industrial revolution although has reached its unprecedented altitude benefiting mankind in various aspects yet the resulting pollution is a serious threat to the environment. Dyes are among the major pollutants that contaminate water resources. Hence, a facile synthesis of PANI/MgFe2 O4 nanoferrite composite and its hybrids as photocatalysts for the degradation of Indigo carmine in aqueous solutions is described. The photocatalysts were designed in situ through self-polymerization of monomer aniline. The catalytic activity of each composite was studied by evaluating its efficiency to photodegrade water soluble carcinogenic indigo carmine dye in aqueous solution. Different parameters like dye concentration, dose of photocatalyst, contact time and pH have been studied to optimize reaction conditions. The FTIR, SEM and XRD studies were carried to determine chemical as well as morphological feature characteristics of nanoferrite composite (MgFe2 O4 +PANI) and hybrid nanoferrite composites (MFe2 O4 + PANI + silica gel). The XRD confirmed the cubic structure of nano ferrite. The SEM image of polyaniline/composite suggested porous surface and highly agglomerated granular shape. The FTIR spectra of polyaniline and its composites evinced the formation of composite possessing spinal ferrite structure. The single coated PANI/MgFe2 O4 composite presented higher photo-degradation percentage i.e. 97.52% as compared to hybrid nanoferrite composites i.e. 94.36% and hence presented promising results to purify water contaminated with respective dye. - 2019 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.Scopu