Global health concern of cyanotoxins in surface water and its various detection methods

Water is an absolutely required resource for life nourishment especially for the purpose of drinking, domestic and farming. People in various part of the world are under prodigious threat due to unenviable changes in the physical-chemical and biological properties of an ecosystem. Due to anthropogenic causes like industrialization, the use of fertilizers and urbanization leads to highly polluted water bodies that include fresh and brackish water. These changes influence the harmful growth of cyanobacteria that is blue green algae. cyanoHABs (Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms)  became a worldwide threat to drinking and recreational purpose due to its adopting nature according to the temperature fluctuations. In this study, a basic introduction to cyanotoxins as well as the entanglement of public health that includes route of exposure health effects and the pervasive impact of cyanotoxins and alleviation efforts in the waterbodies along with that the toxicosis. Cyanobacterial toxins such as hepatotoxicosis, neurotoxicosis, gastrointestinal disturbances respiratory and allergic reactions were reviewed. Their detection process and the treatment techniques with various physicochemical methods and bioassay methods were also reviewed

Reliability and validity for measurement of body composition: A field method

Measurement of body composition via a field method has the most popular instruments which are used to estimate the percentage of body fat. Among the instruments used are the Body Mass Index, Bio Impedance Analysis and Skinfold Test. All three of these instruments do not involve high costs, do not require high technical skills, mobile, save time, and are suitable for use in large populations. Because all three instruments can estimate the percentage of body fat, but it is important to identify the most appropriate instruments and have high reliability. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the reliability and convergent validity of the instruments. A total of 40 students, males and females aged between 13 and 14 years participated in this study. The study found that the test retest and Pearson correlation coefficient of reliability for the three instruments is very high, r = .99. While the inter class reliability also are at high level with r = .99 for Body Mass Index and Bio Impedance Analysis, r = .96 for Skinfold test. Intra class reliability coefficient for these three instruments is too high for Body Mass Index r = .99, Bio Impedance Analysis r = .97, and Skinfold Test r = .90. However, Standard Error of Measurement value for all three instruments indicates the Body Mass Index is the most appropriate instrument with a mean value of .000672 compared with other instruments. The findings show that the Body Mass Index is an instrument which is the most accurate and reliable in estimating body fat percentage for the population studied.Keywords: Reliability, Validity, Body Mass Index, Bio Impedance Analysis and Skinfold Test

Perovskite solar cells: progress and advancements

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a new class of optoelectronic semiconductors that revolutionized the photovoltaic research in the recent years. The perovskite solar cells present numerous advantages include unique electronic structure, bandgap tunability, superior charge transport properties, facile processing, and low cost. Perovskite solar cells have demonstrated unprecedented progress in efficiency and its architecture evolved over the period of the last 5–6 years, achieving a high power conversion efficiency of about 22% in 2016, serving as a promising candidate with the potential to replace the existing commercial PV technologies. This review discusses the progress of perovskite solar cells focusing on aspects such as superior electronic properties and unique features of halide perovskite materials compared to that of conventional light absorbing semiconductors. The review also presents a brief overview of device architectures, fabrication methods, and interface engineering of perovskite solar cells. The last part of the review elaborates on the major challenges such as hysteresis and stability issues in perovskite solar cells that serve as a bottleneck for successful commercialization of this promising PV technology

Metal oxide semiconducting interfacial layers for photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications

The present review rationalizes the significance of the metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) interfaces in the field of photovoltaics and photocatalysis. This perspective considers the role of interface science in energy harvesting using organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). These interfaces include large surface area junctions between photoelectrodes and dyes, the interlayer grain boundaries within the photoanodes, and the interfaces between photoactive layers and the top and bottom contacts. Controlling the collection and minimizing the trapping of charge carriers at these boundaries is crucial to overall power conversion efficiency of solar cells. Similarly, MOS photocatalysts exhibit strong variations in their photocatalytic activities as a function of band structure and surface states. Here, the MOS interface plays a vital role in the generation of OH radicals, which forms the basis of the photocatalytic processes. The physical chemistry and materials science of these MOS interfaces and their influence on device performance are also discussed

Body fat and risk of cardiovascular diseases among the Tamil school teachers in Kuala Selangor, Selangor

This quantitative survey aims to measure the overall body fat, BMI, abdominal fat and the risk of cardiovascular diseases among 60 Tamil school teachers from Kuala Selangor District, Selangor. The subjects voluntarily participated in this study. The total body fat, Body Mass Index (BMI) and abdominal fat were measured using Omron Karada Scanner, meanwhile PACER test was used to measure cardiovascular endurance. The descriptive analysis showed, 71.67% Tamil school teachers from Kuala Selangor were found to be in the category of excessive body fat and obese. BMI levels, showed that 26.68% were overweight, 48.33% teachers were in level pre-obese till to obese stage III. Abdominal fat levels showed that 70% teachers were at risk. While only 20% of them having good cardiovascular fitness. The inferential analysis showed that there were significant differences in overall body fat and cardiovascular endurance between male and female subjects but BMI and abdominal fat levels showed no significant difference between male and female subjects. The findings indicated that most of the Tamil school teachers in Kuala Selangor District having high risk of cardiovascular diseases. They should do regular physical activity and consume balanced diet to reduce the risk of body fat and obesity which cause the cardiovascular diseases.Keywords: Obesity, abdominal fat, total body fat, cardiovascular endurance & physical activit

Data of chemical analysis and electrical properties of SnO2-TiO2 composite nanofibers

In this data article, we provide energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectra of the electrospun composite (SnO2-TiO2) nanowires with the elemental values measured in atomic and weight%. The linear sweep voltammetry data of composite and its component nanofibers are provided. The data collected in this article is directly related to our research article “Synergistic combination of electronic and electrical properties of SnO2 and TiO2 in a single SnO2-TiO2 composite nanowire for dye-sensitized solar cells

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF MILLINGTONIA HORTENSIS (L)

Objective: Millingtonia hortensis Linn (Bignoniaceae) is commonly known as cork tree and Akash neem. Aim of studies to determine the antioxidant activity and antibacterial activity.Methods: The antioxidant activity of different solvent extracts were measured by chemical analyses involving the assay of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and super oxide radical scavenging activity.Results: Phytochemicals (secondary metabolites) screening of methanol, chloroform, ethanol, petroleum ether, aqueous leaf extracts revealed the presence of carbohydrates, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, betacyanins, phenols and coumarins.Conclusion: The presence of these phytochemicals and antioxidant capacity support the use of this plant as an antibacterial agent against the group of micro organisms tested.Â

Influence of UV Treatment on the Food Safety Status of a Model Aquaponic System

Few microbial studies in aquaponics, a growing trend in food production, have been conducted to determine food safety status. The aim of this study was to determine the food safety status and the effectiveness of ultraviolet treatment (15 W, luminous flux of 900 lm) as a food safety intervention in reducing the microbial loads of the water system in a model aquaponic unit growing lettuce, basil, and barramundi (Australian Sea Bass). Sweet basil, bibb lettuce, water samples, and fish swabs were collected throughout the 118-day production period, and microbial analysis was conducted in triplicate for the presence of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and the prevalence of aerobic plate counts (APC), coliforms, and fecal coliforms in these systems. Absence of foodborne pathogens was confirmed using ELISA technology and enumeration through petrifilms (coliform/E. coli). A significant increase was observed in aerobic plate counts over the trial period (1 to 3 log10 CFU·mL−1) in the presence and absence of UV (p \u3e 0.05). Ultraviolet treatment did not significantly reduce the APC or coliform counts when compared to the control system samples. Future work should focus on improving the unit design, the evaluation of bio-solid filtration, and other food safety interventions

Dual-Mode Gold Nanoparticle-Based Method for Early Detection of Acanthamoeba

Acanthamoebakeratitis is an aggressive and rapidly progressing ocular pathology whosemain risk factor is the use of contact lenses. An early and differential diagnosis is considered themain factor to prevent the progression and improve the prognosis of the pathology. However, currentdiagnosis techniques require time, complex and costly materials making an early diagnosis challeng-ing. Thus, there is a need for fast, accessible, and accurate methods forAcanthamoebadetection bypractitioners for timely and suitable treatment and even for contact lens user as preventive diagnosis.Here, we developed a dual-mode colorimetric-based method for fast, visual, and accurate detectionofAcanthamoebausing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). For this strategy, AuNPs were functionalizedwith thiolated probes and the presence of targetAcanthamoebagenomic sequences, produce a colori-metric change from red to purple. This approach allows the detection of 0.02 and 0.009μM of theunamplifiedAcanthamoebagenome by the naked eye in less than 20 min and by color analysis usinga smartphone. Additionally, real samples were successfully analyzed showing the potential of thetechnology considering the lack of point-of-care tools that are mostly needed.This work was supported by an industrial project (ND2017/BMD7676) granted by the community of Madrid.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

EVALUATION OF ANTI-OXIDANT AND HEPATOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF COUROUPITA GUIANENSIS LEAVES

Abstract: The present study was conducted to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Couroupita guianensis against CCL 4 induced liver damage in rats. Anti-oxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and hydrogen peroxide scavenging. Ascorbic acid was used as the standard antioxidants for comparison. Healthy male Wistar albino rats of either sex (150-200g) were used for the in-vivo investigations. Liver damage was induced by administration of 30% CCl 4 suspended in olive oil (1ml/kg body weight). Activities of liver marker enzymes, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), asparate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (TB) and total protein (TP) at doses of 150mg/kg and 300 mg/kg showed a significant hepatoprotective effect in comparison with the standard (silymarin). The present study demonstrates that the extract of Couroupita guianensis has hepatoprotective effect against CCl 4 induced hepatotoxicity