Critical review on arsenic: Its occurrence, contamination and remediation from water and soil

With the increasing pollution in today’s world, importance is being given to solve a problem and do it in a sustainable, eco-friendly manner. Arsenic is a class-1 carcinogen and also causes many other side effects to humans, plants and animals. The utilization of arsenic as wood preservatives, pesticides, or its historical overuse by some military units for rice killing operations has led to the increase in the toxic effects of arsenic like its carcinogenicity, decreased immune response etc. Although conventional methods like coagulation, lime softening, adsorption, membrane technology are effective, they have their disadvantages like additional waste generation, causing increased pollution and are expensive. The better alternative is phytoremediation. Appropriate plants like Brassica juncea, Hydrilla verticilata, Pteris vittata L., Vallisneria natans,  can be chosen based on the method of the remediation like phytoextraction, phytostabilization and phytofiltration or phytovoltalization. This review provides the list of a few plants which can be likely chosen for the purpose of both water and soil remediation. Advancements are occurring in bioremediation studies with the development of transgenic plants like transgenic tobacco, transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana for better phytoremediation.  Understanding the mechanism employed by the plant for its uptake/detoxification can aid in the enhancement of the process of remediation with the external supply of phosphorus. Along with this, the proper and safe disposal of plants is crucial for the remediation process. In addition, awareness of this solution to the general public is to be made for its effectiveness

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF PRESS COATED TABLETS OF LANSOPRAZOLE

Objective: Lansoprazole an proton pump inhibitor, degrades in acidic environment, hence protection of drug is done by coating the drug with enteric coating polymers. The aim and objective of the present study was to prepare enteric coated delayed release tablets of lansoprazole by using press coating technique. Methods: Core tablets were prepared by direct compression and evaluated for their physico-chemical properties. Press coated tablets were formulated by using different combinations of ethyl cellulose, HPMC E15 and HPMC K4M as a coating layer. Core and coated tablets were optimized by dissolution studies. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies were performed to know the compatibility of drug with various excipients. Surface morphology and uniformity of coat was evaluated by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Stability of optimized formulation was evaluated according to ICH guidelines. Results: Among the various formulations F5 containing ethyl cellulose: HPMC E15 (10:90) and F9 containing ethyl cellulose: HPMC K4M (25:75) were optimized based on the better drug release within 8 h. DSC studies and FTIR studies revealed compatibility of drug with excipients. Obtained SEM photographs of tablets showed that the surface of core tablet is uniformly coated with coat by press coating. Stability studies showed that the formulations were stable. Conclusion: As a result, delayed release press coated tablets developed in this study delivered lansoprazole in the intestine and protected the drug from degradation

Clinical significance of Kriyakala in Ayurveda

Ayurveda is an ancient bunch of knowledge which aims at maintaining the health of a healthy individual and curing the diseased one. This is brought by equalizing Dosha, Dhatu and Mala. The term Kriyakala refers to the recognition of the stage of a disease's progress, which helps to determine appropriate measure to correct the imbalance in Doshas (biological factors). It is a compound expression, comprised of Kriya and Kala, where Kriya means the choice to treatment (medicine, food and daily-routine) used to improve the disturbance in Doshas, and Kala refers to the stage of progress of a disease. The six stages mentioned by Acharya Sushruta gives an idea regarding the state of the disease in the body and it guides us when to intervene. Early diagnosis of diseases helps to cure the diseases successfully without much discomfort in planning treatment. The primary objective of this study is to describe the importance of Kriyakala in prognosis and diagnosis of the disease. The concept is traced through classical texts. Kriyakala gives us the knowledge of diagnosis, prognosis and the level of intervention and so that to prevent the establishment of a disease

How Does a Child with Sensory Processing Problems Play?

The occupation of play during one’s childhood years serves as a foundation for the development of future occupations in an individual’s life. By understanding a child’s extant play skills and deficits, one may then provide the necessary interventions needed to promote development and successful growth into new occupations. The purpose of this paper was to understand how a child with sensory processing deficits plays in a naturalistic environment. The findings revealed an interplay between the child’s underlying sensory processing deficits and his play skills and behaviors. Increased understanding of how a child with sensory processing deficits plays will provide information for other occupational therapists and help in the treatment of children with similar deficits

Hemovigilance: knowledge, attitude and practice among postgraduates and interns of a tertiary care hospital

Background: Adverse reactions due to transfusion of blood and blood products should be reported for the betterment of patients health and to minimize such effects in the future. A Program was initiated to report and reduce incidence of adverse reactions to blood products which is hemovigilance program of India. Aim was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of haemovigilance among postgraduates and interns. Methods: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted among 159 participants of a tertiary care hospital for a period of 1 month. Results: Results obtained were analysed using descriptive and qualitative statistics. About 83.6% of the participants were aware about the concept of Haemovigilance. Only 23 out of the 159 had reported transfusion reactions in the past but the attitude towards this concept was satisfactory. Conclusions: Overall the participants had a less satisfactory overview of this concept and hence educational interventions can aid in serving the purpose

Ceftaroline fosamil in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Ceftaroline fosamil, a cephalosporin approved by the FDA for treating infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Staphylococcus aureus, particularly MRSA strains, poses a significant health risk due to antibiotic resistance. Ceftaroline fosamil is unique in its ability to bind to penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a) found in MRSA, inhibiting bacterial cell wall synthesis and causing bacterial death. The pharmacokinetics of ceftaroline involve rapid conversion to its active form, primarily excretion through the kidneys, and a plasma protein binding rate of approximately 20%. Ceftaroline is effective against complex skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), especially when MRSA is suspected. However, its efficacy against gram-negative bacteria is limited. The safety profile of ceftaroline fosamil is generally good, with reported adverse events comparable to other comparator agents in clinical trials. It is contraindicated in individuals with hypersensitivity to cephalosporins. Comparative efficacy with other antibiotics like vancomycin and daptomycin is discussed, emphasizing the importance of considering individual patient characteristics and local prevalence of resistant bacteria. The use of ceftaroline fosamil in special populations, such as pediatric and adult patients. While its efficacy in pediatric MRSA infections is explored, the lack of large-scale clinical trials for certain conditions like MRSA bacteremia is acknowledged. Clinical outcomes, including successful treatment of MRSA bacteremia, infective endocarditis, central nervous system infections, and nosocomial pneumonia, are discussed, suggesting ceftaroline fosamil's potential as a valuable therapeutic option. The conclusion underscores its breakthrough status, offering hope in addressing MRSA infections and improving patient outcomes

Automated Defect Detection and Characterization on Pulse Thermography Images Using Computer Vision Techniques

Defect detection and characterization plays a vital role in predicting the life span of materials. Defect detection using appropriate inspection technologies at various phases has gained huge importance in metal production lines. It can be accomplished through wise application of non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDE). It is important to characterize defects at an early stage in order to be able to overcome them or take corrective measures. Pulse thermography is a modern NDE method that can be used for defect detection in metal objects. Only a limited amount of work has been done on automated detection and characterization of defects due to thermal diffusion. This paper proposes a system for automatic defect detection and characterization in metal objects using pulse thermography images as well as various image processing algorithms and mathematical tools. An experiment was carried out using a sequence of 250 pulse thermography images of an AISI 316 L stainless steel sheet with synthetic defects. The proposed system was able to detect and characterize defects sized 10 mm, 8 mm, 6 mm, 4 mm and 2 mm with an average accuracy of 96%, 95%, 84%, 77%, 54% respectively. The proposed technique helps in the effective and efficient characterization of defects in metal objects

A Review of the Use of Genetic Engineering Practices and the Impact of Gene Editing in Healthcare and Biotechnology

Genetic engineering is an integral approach to the development of new diagnostic techniques, drugs for human and animal diseases, foods for human health, development of tissues, and cells for xenotransplantation. The components of vaccine for disease control and nutraceuticals for human health provide proteins; peptides and other components may be an integral part of human life in the coming days. Genetically engineered animals also offer significant human health and environmental benefits; livestock becomes more efficient for converting feed to animal protein and reducing waste production, by imparting resistance to disease and good health. The techniques permit individuals or groups of genes to be isolated from large masses of DNA and produced in virtually unlimited quantities. Genetic engineering in animal production has a growing number of practical benefits, such as in the production of transgenic animal’s resistant to disease, increasing the productivity of animals, in the treatment of genetic disorders, and the production of vaccines

Simple Topological Drawings of kk-Planar Graphs

Every finite graph admits a \emph{simple (topological) drawing}, that is, a drawing where every pair of edges intersects in at most one point. However, in combination with other restrictions simple drawings do not universally exist. For instance, \emph{$k$-planar graphs} are those graphs that can be drawn so that every edge has at most $k$ crossings (i.e., they admit a \emph{$k$-plane drawing}). It is known that for $k\le 3$, every $k$-planar graph admits a $k$-plane simple drawing. But for $k\ge 4$, there exist $k$-planar graphs that do not admit a $k$-plane simple drawing. Answering a question by Schaefer, we show that there exists a function $f : \mathbb{N}\rightarrow\mathbb{N}$ such that every $k$-planar graph admits an $f(k)$-plane simple drawing, for all $k\in\mathbb{N}$. Note that the function $f$ depends on $k$ only and is independent of the size of the graph. Furthermore, we develop an algorithm to show that every $4$-planar graph admits an $8$-plane simple drawing.Comment: Appears in the Proceedings of the 28th International Symposium on Graph Drawing and Network Visualization (GD 2020