Removing of heavymetals from water by chitosan nanoparticles

Chitosan was prepared by deacetylation of chitin. The prepared chitosan has characterized bymolecular weight, degree of deacetylation, and ash %. Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared byionotropic gelation of chitosan with tripolyphosphate anions. The structure and particle size of chitosan nanoparticles have confirmed via FTIR analysis and TEM imaging.The chitosan nanoparticles were used in water treatment to remove metal ions from sample contains 20 ppm from each Fe+2, Mn+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2.The optimum conditions for this study were at 2 g/l of chitosan nanoparticles, pH 7 and 30 min of mixing time. Chitosan showed the highest performance under these conditions with removing percent 99.94% 80.85% 90.49% and 95.93% from Fe+2, Mn+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2 respectively

Synthesis and anti-mycobacterial evaluation of some new isonicotinylhydrazide analogues

AbstractThe synthesis of some new 3,4-disubstituted thiazolylideneisonicotinohydrazide derivatives 3a–k, 2-substituted thiazolidinylisonicotinamide derivatives 4a–d and pyrrolylisonicotinamide derivatives 5, 6 and 7 is described. The resulted compounds are evaluated for their in vitro antitubercular activity. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of compound 3g showed comparable in vitro activity to isoniazid against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra 7131 strain in concentration 9.77μg/mL

Activity and stability of immobilized Candida rugosa lipase on chitosan coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles in aqueous and organic media

Fe3O4 (magnetite) nanoparticles were prepared by coprecipitation method, coated by chitosan and functionalized by glutaraldehyde. Lipase enzyme from Candida rugosa was immobilized on the prepared particles via cross linking reaction. Synthesis steps and characterization were examined by XRD, TEM, and FTIR.  The immobilization conditions were 10 mL of phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 6.5) containing 30 mg of  functionalized magnetic chitosan nanoparticles and 2.0 mg·mL-1 of lipase, immobilization temperature of 4 ℃ and immobilization time of 1 h. Under these conditions, lipase was successfully immobilized with loading capacity of 87 mg/g. The immobilized enzyme showed good operational and storage stability, where it remained stable after 30 days of storage at 4â—¦C.and retained about 61% of its initial activity after twenty repeated uses. Finally enzymatic catalyze synthesis of butyl and hexyl oleate at 40 â—¦C with shaking (200 rpm) was realized in n-hexane and confirmed by GC analysis

Removing of heavymetals from water by chitosan nanoparticles

Chitosan was prepared by deacetylation of chitin. The prepared chitosan has characterized bymolecular weight, degree of deacetylation, and ash %. Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared byionotropic gelation of chitosan with tripolyphosphate anions. The structure and particle size of chitosan nanoparticles have confirmed via FTIR analysis and TEM imaging.The chitosan nanoparticles were used in water treatment to remove metal ions from sample contains 20 ppm from each Fe+2, Mn+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2.The optimum conditions for this study were at 2 g/l of chitosan nanoparticles, pH 7 and 30 min of mixing time. Chitosan showed the highest performance under these conditions with removing percent 99.94% 80.85% 90.49% and 95.93% from Fe+2, Mn+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2 respectively

Industrial neighborhoods in desert cities: Designing urban landscapes to reduce sandstorm effects in Mussafah

Labor housing projects in many Gulf countries are located in less favorable sites in the desert hinterland. They are characterized by grid-based compositions, simple facades, and block buildings positioned on the outskirts of cities. This development type was implemented in the industrial sector of Abu Dhabi, known as Mussafah. Gradually, this industrial area redeveloped its urban fabric by transforming many of its buildings into mixed-use structures with small gardens that provide open air spaces to the community and promote social interaction. Interventions from the community via introducing small garden stock increased the sense of belonging, improved the urban fabric, and reduced sand movement in the area. This is important in the Gulf region’s desert environment, which gives rise to sandstorms. This study evaluates the amount and distribution of sand around a selected group of buildings in the Mussafah area through experimental work. The methodology involves a coupled air and sand experiment in an environmental wind tunnel. The experiments have shown that adding a fence around the small gardens of the buildings in Mussafah reduced the sand pollution effects significantly

Association of Assisted Reproductive Technology With Offspring Growth and Adiposity From Infancy to Early Adulthood

IMPORTANCE People conceived using assisted reproductive technology (ART) make up an increasing proportion of the world's population. OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of ART conception with offspring growth and adiposity from infancy to early adulthood in a large multicohort study. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cohort study used a prespecified coordinated analysis across 26 European, Asia-Pacific, and North American population-based cohort studies that included people born between 1984 and 2018, with mean ages at assessment of growth and adiposity outcomes from 0.6 months to 27.4 years. Data were analyzed between November 2019 and February 2022. EXPOSURES Conception by ART (mostly in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and embryo transfer) vs natural conception (NC; without any medically assisted reproduction). Main OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcomes were length / height, weight, and body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared). Each cohort was analyzed separately with adjustment for maternal BMI, age, smoking, education, parity, and ethnicity and offspring sex and age. Results were combined in random effects meta-analysis for 13 age groups. RESULTS Up to 158 066 offspring (4329 conceived by ART) were included in each age-group meta-analysis, with between 47.6% to 60.6% females in each cohort. Compared with offspring who were NC, offspring conceived via ART were shorter, lighter, and thinner from infancy to early adolescence, with differences largest at the youngest ages and attenuating with older child age. For example, adjusted mean differences in offspring weight were -0.27 (95% CI, -0.39 to -0.16) SD units at age younger than 3 months, -0.16 (95% CI, -0.22 to -0.09) SD units at age 17 to 23 months, -0.07 (95% CI, -0.10 to -0.04) SD units at age 6 to 9 years, and -0.02 (95% CI, -0.15 to 0.12) SD units at age 14 to 17 years. Smaller offspring size was limited to individuals conceived by fresh but not frozen embryo transfer compared with those who were NC (eg, difference in weight at age 4 to 5 years was -0.14 [95% CI, -0.20 to -0.07] SD units for fresh embryo transfer vs NC and 0.00 [95% CI, -0.15 to 0.15] SD units for frozen embryo transfer vs NC). More marked differences were seen for body fat measurements, and there was imprecise evidence that offspring conceived by ART developed greater adiposity by early adulthood (eg, ART vs NC difference in fat mass index at age older than 17 years: 0.23 [95% CI, -0.04 to 0.50] SD units). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE These findings suggest that people conceiving or conceived by ART can be reassured that differences in early growth and adiposity are small and no longer evident by late adolescence.Peer reviewe

Study of DNA methyl transferase 3A mutation in acute myeloid leukemic patients

Background: Recent studies have shown that somatic mutations in DNA methyltransferase (DNMT3A) might affect the prognosis of AML.Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate the frequency and prognostic impact of the most frequent mutation of DNMT3A, R882H mutation in AML using simple and rapid molecular techniques.Patients and methods: We have used allele-specific blocker (ASB-PCR) and endonuclease restriction for the detection of DNMT3A R882H mutation in 56 adult patients with AML.Results: DNMT3A R882H mutation was detected in 7/56 (12.5%) of patients. R882H mutation positive patients were older compared to the wild-type AML (p = 0.08). No association was found with initial laboratory parameters including white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (HGB) and Bone marrow (BM) blasts (p > 0.05). Thirty-two patients (57.1%) achieved complete remission (CR), 11/56 (19.6%) died before day 28 induction death (ID) and 13/56 (23.2%) had resistant disease (RD). DNMT3A R882H positive patients were not different regarding the response to induction chemotherapy (CR) compared to the negative group (wild-type) (p > 0.05). Median follow-up period for all patients was 1.6 months, Overall survival (OS) was 65%, and the median was 9.89 months. OS of DNMT3A positive patients was not statistically significant compared to wild-type patients (p = 0.09). Disease free survival (DFS) was 54.6% for all patients, with no difference between wild and mutants (0.59) patients.Conclusion: DNMT3A R882H is a frequent mutation in adult de novo AML. The frequency of the mutation tends to increase with age. The two methods used in the study are easy to interpret and are recommended for rapid detection of the mutation required for risk stratification.Keywords: AML, DNMT3A, ASB-PCR, PCR-RFLP, Endonuclease restrictio

Day-to-day physical activity producing low gravitational impacts is associated with faster visual processing speed at age 69: cross-sectional study

Background Little is known about how different physical activity (PA) parameters relate to cognitive function in older adults. Using accelerometers calibrated to detect vertical impacts from ground reaction forces we examined the associations of low, medium and higher impact PA with processing speed, verbal memory and cognitive state in older adults. Methods Participants were 69-year old British men and women from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development included in a vertical impacts and bone sub-study (n = 558; 48.2% female). Counts of low (0.5 < g < 1.0 g), medium (1 < g < 1.5 g), or higher (≥1.5 g) magnitude impacts were derived from vertical acceleration peaks recorded over 7 days by hip-worn accelerometers. Processing speed was assessed by a timed visual letter search task, verbal memory by a 15-word list learning test and cognitive state by the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-III). Potential confounders were childhood cognitive ability, adult socioeconomic position, body mass index and depression. Results In initial sex-adjusted models, low magnitude impacts were associated with better performance in all three cognitive function tests; standard deviation differences in test scores per doubling in number of low impacts: letter search speed = 0.10 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.03 to 0.16), word learning test = 0.05 (95% CI: 0.00 to 0.11), ACE-III scale = 0.09 (95% CI: 0.03 to 0.14). After adjustment for confounders, differences persisted for letter search speed (0.09; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.16) but were closer to the null for the word learning test (0.02; 95% CI: − 0.04 to 0.07) and ACE-III scores (0.04; 95% CI: − 0.01 to 0.09). Low impacts remained associated with letter search speed after sensitivity analyses excluding those with functional and musculoskeletal problems, and after adjustment for impacts in higher bands. Modest positive associations between higher magnitude impacts and cognitive test scores were most likely due to chance. Conclusion Accelerometer-derived low impact physical activity was associated with better visual processing speed in 69-year old men and women independently of childhood cognitive ability and other measured confounders. Day-to-day low impact physical activity may therefore have the potential to benefit cognitive health in older adults

Using linear and natural cubic splines, SITAR, and latent trajectory models to characterise nonlinear longitudinal growth trajectories in cohort studies

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal data analysis can improve our understanding of the influences on health trajectories across the life-course. There are a variety of statistical models which can be used, and their fitting and interpretation can be complex, particularly where there is a nonlinear trajectory. Our aim was to provide an accessible guide along with applied examples to using four sophisticated modelling procedures for describing nonlinear growth trajectories. METHODS: This expository paper provides an illustrative guide to summarising nonlinear growth trajectories for repeatedly measured continuous outcomes using (i) linear spline and (ii) natural cubic spline linear mixed-effects (LME) models, (iii) Super Imposition by Translation and Rotation (SITAR) nonlinear mixed effects models, and (iv) latent trajectory models. The underlying model for each approach, their similarities and differences, and their advantages and disadvantages are described. Their application and correct interpretation of their results is illustrated by analysing repeated bone mass measures to characterise bone growth patterns and their sex differences in three cohort studies from the UK, USA, and Canada comprising 8500 individuals and 37,000 measurements from ages 5–40 years. Recommendations for choosing a modelling approach are provided along with a discussion and signposting on further modelling extensions for analysing trajectory exposures and outcomes, and multiple cohorts. RESULTS: Linear and natural cubic spline LME models and SITAR provided similar summary of the mean bone growth trajectory and growth velocity, and the sex differences in growth patterns. Growth velocity (in grams/year) peaked during adolescence, and peaked earlier in females than males e.g., mean age at peak bone mineral content accrual from multicohort SITAR models was 12.2 years in females and 13.9 years in males. Latent trajectory models (with trajectory shapes estimated using a natural cubic spline) identified up to four subgroups of individuals with distinct trajectories throughout adolescence. CONCLUSIONS: LME models with linear and natural cubic splines, SITAR, and latent trajectory models are useful for describing nonlinear growth trajectories, and these methods can be adapted for other complex traits. Choice of method depends on the research aims, complexity of the trajectory, and available data. Scripts and synthetic datasets are provided for readers to replicate trajectory modelling and visualisation using the R statistical computing software. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12874-022-01542-8