Biodecolorization of Reactive Black 5 by laccasemediator system

Reactive azo dyes are widely used as textile colorants, typically for cotton dyeing, due to their variety of color shades, and minimal energy consumption. In the present study, commercial laccase from Trametes versicolor was used for the biodecolorization of Reactive Black 5 (RB-5) dye using different redox mediators viz, N-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT), 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline- 6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), 2,6-dimethoxy phenol (DMP), syringaldehyde, vanillin, aceto-vanillone, p-coumaric acid and catechol. Commercial laccase alone did not show any considerable decolorization of RB-5. However, the laccase in the presence of syringaldehyde showed the strongest decolorization rate (98%), followed by vanillin (55.21%), aceto-vanillone (53.25%), ABTS (42.78%), p-coumaric acid (41.9%), DMP (39%), and catechol (36.33%); while least decolorization was observed with HBT at dye/mediator ratio of only 1:5 after 30 min. Therefore, syringaldehyde performance was evaluated at different mediator/dye ratios (1:1, 1:5 and 1:10) using commercial laccase and it was compared with that of synthetic mediator like HBT. It was found that the presence of syringaldehyde was essential for biodecolorization of RB-5. Moreover, it was observed that syringaldehyde was an effective natural redox mediator as compared to synthetic HBT. Enhanced decolorization (98%) of RB-5 by laccase was observed with 1:5 syringaldehyde and dye ratio for 30 min but maximum removal (22%) of RB-5 was recorded with HBT at 1:1 after 40 min. Thus, the study reveals that the phenolic compounds could be used as potential redox mediators for enhanced laccase-mediated decolorization of azo dyes.Keywords: Reactive Black 5 (RB-5), redox mediators, laccase, biodegradation, azo dyesAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(29), pp. 7464-7471, 10 April, 201

Occupational Health Hazard among Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Lahore

Background: Occupational health is a neglected public health issue among healthcare workers in developing countries and they may expose them to various forms of hazards. Objectives: The study aims at exploring the forms of occupational health hazards among nurses in a tertiary care hospital, Lahore Methods: Total 151 staff nurses were enrolled for cross-sectional descriptive study to explore the occupational health hazard.  This study was conducted at Lahore General Hospital, Lahore for the duration of 02, 2021, to January 01, 2022. Only charge nurses working in medical and surgical units on permanent basis having experience more than six months were included. Results: The findings of this study showed that the mean age of the nurse was 25.87 ± 3.138 years (age range 21-32 year), the female nurse was  127(84.1%)while 24(15.9%) were male nurse. The participants faced occupational health hazards 51.8%, biological hazards73.5%, and physical hazards 59.2% and mechanical and psychology Hazards among Nurse 48.8% and 52.0% respectively. Conclusion:Occupational risks (biological hazards) are very common among the nurses in Lahore General Hospital, Lahore. To protect patients and medical staff, hospitals should implement preventative, infection control, and patient safety initiatives. Keywords: Occupational hazards;  Health workers;  Lahore General Hospital DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/104-05 Publication date: November 30th 202

Cellulose-based materials and their adsorptive removal efficiency for dyes: A review

Dyes are emerging as harmful pollutants, which is one of major issues for the environmentalists and there is a urgent need for the removal of dyes from the effluents. In this context, the adsorption technology has been extensively used as an effective tool for the removal of dyes from the aqueous phase. This technique uses low-cost adsorbents and the cellulosic material is a biodegradable, cost-effective and renewable polymer, which is not soluble in the majority of solvents because of its crystalline nature and hydrogen bonding. Currently, the modified cellulosic materials for the removal of dyes from wastewater gained much attention. Moreover, the application of cellulose for water treatment can be utilized for controlling pollution and have high economic viability and availability. This review signifies the use of cellulose-based adsorbent for dyes adsorption from wastewater. The key advancement in the preparation and modification of cellulose-based adsorbents is discussed and their adsorption efficiencies are compared with other adsorbents for removal of dyes and adsorption conditions are also considered for the same. The studies reporting cellulose-based adsorption from 2003 to 2022 are included and their various properties are compared for the efficient removal of dyes. The modified cellulosic materials cellulose is a highly effective adsorbent for the remediation of effluents

Green synthesis and photocatalytic dye degradation activity of CuO Nanoparticles

This project was supported by Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP-2023R7) King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. S.A.C.C. acknowledges support from FCT/MCTES (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) through projects UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020 and for the Scientific Employment Stimulus—Institutional Call (CEECINST/00102/2018). The authors thank The Islamia University of Bahawalpur for providing basic facilities.The degradation of dyes is a difficult task due to their persistent and stable nature; therefore, developing materials with desirable properties to degrade dyes is an important area of research. In the present study, we propose a simple, one-pot mechanochemical approach to synthesize CuO nanoparticles (NPs) using the leaf extract of Seriphidium oliverianum, as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The CuO NPs were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The photocatalytic activity of CuO NPs was monitored using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The CuO NPs exhibited high potential for the degradation of water-soluble industrial dyes. The degradation rates for methyl green (MG) and methyl orange (MO) were 65.231% ± 0.242 and 65.078% ± 0.392, respectively. Bio-mechanochemically synthesized CuO NPs proved to be good candidates for efficiently removing dyes from waterpublishersversionpublishe

Personality Traits as Predictor of Aggressive Behavior in Pubg Gamers. A Comparison between Agreeableness and Neuroticism

Background: PUBG has been criticized for being a violent game and extreme violence can lead to aggressive thoughts, emotions, and behavior which can negatively impact a player's mental health. Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between personality traits (agreeableness, neuroticism) and aggressive behavior among PUBG Gamers.  Design of the Study: A co relational research design and non-probability purposive sampling technique was used.  Place and Duration of the study: This study was conducted from March 2021 to December 2021 in Lahore and Faisalabad. Sample and Method: A random sample of 210 students, aged between 18 to 125 years (mean age=1.57, SD=.496.) were selected from different private and government academic institutions. A self-developed demographic sheet was administered along with the Big Five Inventory (BFI) (Goldberg, 1993), and The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) (1992) were used for assessment. For data analysis, IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis, and independent-sample t-test was used for result analysis. Results and Conclusion: It was revealed that neurotic (personality trait) is significantly and positively correlated with aggressive behavior, whereas it was negatively and significantly correlated with agreeableness (Personality Traits). The findings will be helpful for Families, friends, teachers, and therapists to manage the harmful impacts of PUBG on gamers having different personality trait

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TEXTBOOK AND ACTIVITY BASED METHOD IN THE SUBJECT OF SCIENCE AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL

Strategies, techniques, approaches and methodologies are essential part of teaching and learning whereas the textbook is a systematical arrangement of content related to subject that helps in teaching at specific academic level. The activity based method is the form of learning where students are actively engaged in a given task with a focus on making the abstract concrete or learning by doing.  This experimental study, lasted for four weeks,  compares the textbook and activity based method of teaching in the subjects of science at elementary level which was conducted on grade VI students to explore the effectiveness of activity and textbook based method of teaching after arranging pre and post test. The mean score of control group on post test was 12.26/20 and the mean score of experimental group on post test was 18.44/20. The results reflect that the performance of experimental group was significantly better than the controlled group. Hence, the study finds by investigating that activity based method of teaching has potential to enhance the academic achievement of the students in the context of the regular science teaching class

Triggering of erythrocyte membrane blebbing by ciprofloxacin

An extensively used fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin shows a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative strains. It works mainly by the inhibition of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV which results in impaired DNA replication leading towards microbial cell death. Eryptosis is an alternative term used for suicidal erythrocyte death. In current study, eryptotic effect of ciprofloxacin was investigated by exposing erythrocytes for 48 hours to the different concentrations (45-90µM) of ciprofloxacin. The experimental work related to the investigation of eryptosis was done by cell size measurement and confirmation of calcium role in membrane blebbing. As a possible mechanism of eryptosis, oxidative stress induced by ciprofloxacin was determined by catalase, glutathion peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities measurement. Similarly, necrotic effect of ciprofloxacin was also illustrated by hemolysis measurement. Results of our study revealed that the therapeutical doses of ciprofloxacin may induce oxidative stress by significant decrease in superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities as well as induce eryptosis, featured by erythrocytes membrane blebbing and hemolysis

Enhanced visible light-driven photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet dye using Cr doped BaFe12O19 prepared via facile micro-emulsion route

The Cr ion doping effect on various properties of Cr doped BaCrxFe12-xO19 nanoparticles was investigated, which were synthesized via a facile microemulsion approach and properties were studied using XRD, SEM, FTIR, Raman, photoluminescence and UV–visible techniques along with dielectric, optical and ferroelectric properties. The BaCrxFe12-xO19 structure was hexagonal involving P63/mmc space group with average crystalline size of 9–18 nm. The NPs exhibited agglomerated platelet heterogeneous morphology. The presence of the Ba-O-Fe functional group was also confirmed by FTIR analysis. The PL analysis revealed that the doping reduced the recombination rate and charge (e−-h+) separation is facilitated. The coercivity (Hc) and saturation polarization (Ps) increased with doping content and dielectric loss reduces with frequency and dopant concentration. The dopant contents also increased the AC conductivity and the optical bandgap found in 1.75–2.83 (eV) range. The BaCrxFe12-xO19 exhibited a significantly higher photocatalytic efficiency versus BaFe12O19, and 91 % CV dye was degraded in 90 min under visible light irradiation. Additionally, a recycling experiment was conducted to confirm the stability of the prepared photocatalyst and Cr doped BaCrxFe12-xO19 exhibited excellent stability and reusability. The Cr doping affected the dielectric, optical and ferroelectric properties and based on photocatalytic properties of BaCrxFe12-xO19, it has potential applications for the destruction of dyes in wastewater under visible light exposure, which will make the process highly feasible for photocatalytic applications