Utilizing biomass-based graphene oxide-polyaniline-Ag electrodes in microbial fuel cells to boost energy generation and heavy metal removal

Although regarded as environmentally stable, bioelectrochemical fuel cells or, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) continue to face challenges with sustaining electron transport. In response, we examined the performance of two graphene composite-based anode electrodes¿graphene oxide (GO) and GO-polymer-metal oxide (GO-PANI-Ag)¿prepared from biomass and used in MFCs. Over 7 days of operation, GO energy efficiency peaked at 1.022 mW/m2 and GO-PANI-Ag at 2.09 mW/m2. We also tested how well the MFCs could remove heavy metal ions from synthetic wastewater, a secondary application of MFCs that offers considerable benefits. Overall, GO-PANI-Ag had a higher removal rate than GO, with 78.10% removal of Pb(II) and 80.25% removal of Cd(II). Material characterizations, electrochemical testing, and microbial testing conducted to validate the anodes performance confirmed that using new materials as electrodes in MFCs can be an attractive approach to improve the electron transportation. When used with a natural organic substrate (e.g., sugar cane juice), they also present fewer challenges. We also optimized different parameters to confirm the efficiency of the MFCs under various operating conditions. Considering those results, we discuss some lingering challenges and potential possibilities for MFCs

Novel, one-step synthesis of zwitterionic polymer nanoparticles via distillation-precipitation polymerization and its application for dye removal membrane

In this work, poly(MBAAm-co-SBMA) zwitterionic polymer nanoparticles were synthesized in one-step via distillation-precipitation polymerization (DPP) and were characterized. [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SBMA) as monomer and N, N′-methylene bis(acrylamide) (MBAAm) as cross-linker are used for the synthesis of nanoparticles. As far as our knowledge, this is the first such report on the synthesis of poly(MBAAm-co-SBMA) nanoparticles via DPP. The newly synthesized nanoparticles were further employed for the surface modification of polysulfone (PSF) hollow fiber membranes for dye removal. The modified hollow fiber membrane exhibited the improved permeability (56 L/ m2 h bar) and dye removal (>98% of Reactive Black 5 and >80.7% of Reactive orange 16) with the high permeation of salts. Therefore, the as-prepared membrane can have potential application in textile and industrial wastewater treatment

Assessment and Management of Scabies in Primary Care Settings

Scabies is an overlooked tropical illness that yet has significant worldwide effects and lasting health repercussions. The condition is caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabei var. hominis, which is a parasitic organism that dwells on the outer layer of the human skin. Scabies is prevalent in impoverished neighborhoods as a result of the high population density in locations such as nursing homes, correctional facilities, and among homeless and displaced children. Nevertheless, modern nations are also prone to scabies infestations, particularly in cases of institutional outbreaks or mini epidemics occurring after conflict or natural calamities. Scabies diagnosis can be aided by both invasive and noninvasive techniques. This paper reviews assessment diagnosis, and management of scabies in primary health care settings

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocols In General Surgery: A Review Of Implementation And Outcomes

ERAS is a group of protocols that aim at affecting positively patients & surrounding lives. surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, anesthetists, and even healthcare centers hospitals, labs, and pharmacies. Reducing the cost for both hospitals &patients, decreasing the duration of residency in hospitals, and improving patient compliance, developing performance & increasing teamwork between medical staff and patients all fall under the advantages of ERAS. Since it affects the 3 stages of any operation (preoperative-intraoperative-perioperative) it was necessary to implement a suitable protocol for each patient to achieve the best results mostly quitting smoking, fasting for a period before surgery, maintaining body temperature, pressure, and glucose level and the postoperative instructions , care & nutrition to guarantee success and avoidance to recurrence or complications

Profiling estrogen, progesterone, and androgen receptors in colorectal cancer in relation to gender, menopausal status, clinical stage, and tumour sidedness

BackgroundAlthough estrogen (ERα/ERβ), progesterone (PGR), and androgen (AR) receptors are pathologically altered in colorectal cancer (CRC), their simultaneous expression within the same cohort of patients was not previously measured.MethodsERα/ERβ/PGR/AR proteins were measured in archived paired normal and malignant colon specimens (n =120 patients) by immunohistochemistry, and results were analyzed by gender, age (≤50 vs. ≥60 years), clinical stages (early-stage I/II vs. late-stage III/IV), and anatomical location (right; RSCs vs. left; LSCs). Effects of 17β-estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), and testosterone alone or combined with the specific blockers of ERα (MPP dihydrochloride), ERβ (PHTPP), PGR (mifepristone), and AR (bicalutamide) on cell cycle and apoptosis were also measured in the SW480 male and HT29 female CRC cell lines. ResultsERα and AR proteins increased, whilst ERβ and PGR declined markedly in malignant specimens. Moreover, male neoplastic tissues showed highest AR expression, whilst ERβ and PGR weakest alongside ERα strongest expression was seen in cancerous tissues from women aged ≥60 years. Late-stage neoplasms also revealed maximal alterations in the expression of sex steroid receptors. By tumor location, LSCs disclosed significant elevations in ERα with marked declines in PGR compared with RSCs, and ERα strongest alongside PGR weakest expression was detected in advanced LSCs from women aged ≥60 years. Late-stage LSCs from females aged ≥60 years also showed weakest ERβ and strongest AR expression. In contrast, male RSC and LSC tissues exhibited equal ERβ and AR expression in all clinical stages. ERα and AR proteins also correlated positively, whereas ERβ and PGR inversely, with tumor characteristics. Concomitantly, E2 and P4 monotherapies triggered cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in the SW480 and HT29 cells, and while pre-treatment with ERα-blocker enhanced the effects of E2, ERβ-blocker and PGR-blocker suppressed the E2 and P4 anti-cancer actions, respectively. In contrast, treatment with the AR-blocker induced apoptosis, whilst co-treatment with testosterone hindered the effects. ConclusionsThis study advocates that protein expression of sex steroid receptors in malignant tissues could represent prognostic markers, as well as hormonal therapy could provide an alternative strategy against CRC, and their efficacies could be dependent on gender, clinical stage, and tumor location

The Commonly Utilized Natural Products during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey

Objectives: The utilization rate of herbal and dietary supplements among the Saudi population is reported to be high. However, the utilization rate and types of herbal and dietary supplements during the COVID-19 pandemic are largely unknown. Methods: This was an online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study that used convenience sampling and social media platforms (Telegram®, Twitter®, and WhatsApp®) to disseminate a 12-item questionnaire across the Saudi general public aged 18 years and above. The questionnaire inquired about the sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education, geographical location), presence of chronic health conditions and the use of prescription medications, awareness of the viral nature of COVID-19 infection and its common symptoms, and the commonly utilized herbal and/or dietary supplements. Results: Sixty-four percent of the 1473 participants reported using herbal and/or dietary supplements for the purpose of boosting their immune system to prevent COVID-19 infection. In addition, 88.2% of the respondents were misinformed about the manifestation of COVID-19 symptoms. Most of the participants were Saudi (91.9%), aged 49 years and younger (83%), female (52%), and healthy (81%). Honey (46%), lemon (45%), ginger (36%), vitamin C (32%), black seed (26%), garlic (26%), and turmeric (19%) were the most commonly used herbal and/or dietary supplements by the participants. Saudi nationals (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.6, p = 0.02), older adults (OR = 1.30, 95% CI:1.10 to 1.55, p = 0.002), and those taking prescription medications had higher odds of using dietary and/or herbal supplements (OR = 3.31, 95% CI: 2.61 to 4.18, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The utilization rate of herbal and dietary supplements among the Saudi public during the COVID-19 pandemic is high. Future studies should examine the impact of different public awareness campaigns aimed at improving the public knowledge of the risk and benefits associated with the use of different commonly utilized herbal and dietary products identified in this study

Tuna Swarm Algorithm With Deep Learning Enabled Violence Detection in Smart Video Surveillance Systems

In smart video surveillance systems, violence detection becomes challenging to ensure public safety and security. With the proliferation of surveillance cameras in public areas, there is an increasing need for automated algorithms that can accurately and efficiently detect violent behavior in real time. This article presents a Tuna Swarm Optimization with Deep Learning Enabled Violence Detection (TSODL-VD) technique to classify violent actions in surveillance videos. The TSODL-VD technique enables the recognition of violence and can be a measure to avoid chaotic situations. In the presented TSODL-VD technique, the residual-DenseNet model is applied for feature vector generation from the input video frames and then passed into the stacked autoencoder (SAE) classifier. The SAE model is enforced to recognize the events into violence and non-violence events. To improve the violence detection effectiveness of the TSODL-VD procedure, the TSO protocol is utilized as a hyperparameter optimizer for the residual-DenseNet model. The performance validation of the TSODL-VD procedure has experimented on a benchmark violence dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that the TSODL-VD technique accomplishes precise and rapid detection outcomes over the recent state-of-the-art approaches

Performance intensification of the polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane by blending with copolymer encompassing novel derivative of poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) for heavy metal removal from wastewater

A simple, scalable, novel polymer was synthesized by the aminolysis of poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) cumene terminated (PSMAC) using p-aminohippuric acid. The main objective was to perceive the effect of blend ratio of polysulfone (PSF) and poly[styrene-alt-(N-4-benzoylglycine-maleamic acid)] cumene terminated (PAH) on morphology and permeation properties of the membranes. The PSF/PAH blend membranes unveiled enriched hydrophilicity, porosity, zeta potential, water uptake and permeability owing to the existence of the hydrophilic PAH. However, the contact angle was not diminished over 20% of PAH ratio as there was an increase of hydrophobic alkyl group density. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was employed for the determination of the glass transition temperature of the blends and the results revealed that the polymer blend is miscible in nature. Moreover, the M-3 membrane was screened for the heavy metal ion removal and achieved removal of 91.5% of Pb2+ and 72.3% of Cd2+ ions, respectively. The adsorption parameters indicated that the Langmuir isotherm model fits well for both Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions adsorption on M-3 membrane. The adsorption capacity attained from Langmuir isotherm model was 19.35 and 9.88 mg/g for Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions correspondingly