Coagulation and electrocoagulation for co-treatment of stabilized landfill leachate and municipal wastewater

Landfill leachate and municipal wastewater at various ratios (1:20, 1:10, 1:7 and 1:5) were subjected to coagulation and electrocoagulation (EC). Alum was used in conventional coagulation at pH 6 and aluminum plate as electrode was used in EC at a current density of 386 A/m2 with 5 cm inter electrode spacing. Treatment efficiency was assessed from removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, ammonia, nitrate and phosphate. At 1:5 ratio of landfill leachate to municipal wastewater, highest COD removal was with 3.8 g/L alum whereas highest turbidity removal was with 3.3 g/L alum during coagulation. EC exhibited almost similar removal efficiency for all the parameters at different ratios tested except for COD which was considerably higher at 1:20 ratio. Aluminum consumption from electrode was 0.7 g/L following EC as compared to 3.8 g/L alum used in coagulation. The amount of sludge produced was found to be higher with EC as compared to coagulation which could be due to the fact that the electrochemical method was performed for a longer duration than conventional coagulation. For minimal sludge generation, EC reaction time should be ∼30 min. Further studies with EC process on costing and sludge generation will help to advance the technology for wastewater treatment

Frequency of Firearm Injuries, Deaths and Related Factors in Kanpur, India; an Original Study with Review of Literature

Background:Studies on fatal firearm injuries have been published in various countries. However, their pattern and incidence in various regions of India has largely gone unreported. Methods: Present study was conducted to evaluate fatal firearm injuries, their pattern, associated factors, cause of deathand postmortem findings among their victims referred to the mortuary of Kanpur medical college and comparing it with the pattern seen in other countries. Results:Sixty six firearm fatalities autopsied during the August 2008 to July 2010 were studied. 92% were victims of homicidal attacks, 2% suicidal and 2% accidental. In 4% deaths motive could not be ascertained. Conclusion:This is in sharp contrast to the pattern seen in other countries where suicides were the predominant group. In maximum cases, illegal country made firearms was involved with the norm of single firing. Abdomen (39%) and head (30.30%) were the two most common entry sites for the bullets, a pattern somewhat similar to that of other countries. Survival time, cause of death and motives of incidence were also studied. 

Pro-inflammatory cytokines derived from West Nile virus (WNV)-infected SK-N-SH cells mediate neuroinflammatory markers and neuronal death

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>WNV-associated encephalitis (WNVE) is characterized by increased production of pro-inflammatory mediators, glial cells activation and eventual loss of neurons. WNV infection of neurons is rapidly progressive and destructive whereas infection of non-neuronal brain cells is limited. However, the role of neurons and pathological consequences of pro-inflammatory cytokines released as a result of WNV infection is unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the role of key cytokines secreted by WNV-infected neurons in mediating neuroinflammatory markers and neuronal death.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A transformed human neuroblastoma cell line, SK-N-SH, was infected with WNV at multiplicity of infection (MOI)-1 and -5, and WNV replication kinetics and expression profile of key pro-inflammatory cytokines were analyzed by plaque assay, qRT-PCR, and ELISA. Cell death was measured in SK-N-SH cell line in the presence and absence of neutralizing antibodies against key pro-inflammatory cytokines using cell viability assay, TUNEL and flow cytometry. Further, naïve primary astrocytes were treated with UV-inactivated supernatant from mock- and WNV-infected SK-N-SH cell line and the activation of astrocytes was measured using flow cytometry and ELISA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>WNV-infected SK-N-SH cells induced the expression of IL-1β, -6, -8, and TNF-α in a dose- and time-dependent manner, which coincided with increase in virus-induced cell death. Treatment of cells with anti-IL-1β or -TNF-α resulted in significant reduction of the neurotoxic effects of WNV. Furthermore treatment of naïve astrocytes with UV-inactivated supernatant from WNV-infected SK-N-SH cell line increased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and key inflammatory cytokines.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results for the first time suggest that neurons are one of the potential sources of pro-inflammatory cytokines in WNV-infected brain and these neuron-derived cytokines contribute to WNV-induced neurotoxicity. Moreover, cytokines released from neurons also mediate the activation of astrocytes. Our data define specific role(s) of WNV-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines and provide a framework for the development of anti-inflammatory drugs as much-needed therapeutic interventions to limit symptoms associated with WNVE.</p

A study to know the various causes of pleural effusion and role of pleural fluid adenosine deaminase enzyme in tuberculous pleural effusion

Background: India has the maximum burden of both non MDR tuberculosis (TB) and Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) TB, as per data reported in Global TB Report 2018 and tuberculosis is remains one of the most common cause of pleural effusions.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Department of Respiratory Diseases and a total of 110 patients with pleural effusion were included in the study, which were enrolled for treatment from July 2018 to June 2019.Results: One hundred and ten patients with pleural effusion were enrolled during the study period. There were 65 males (59%) and 45 (40.9%) females.  The overall mean age for males and females were 44.4±18.84 years (35-87 years) and 38.28±17.66 years (35-87 years) respectively. Tuberculous Pleural Effusion group (TPE) seen in 82 patients. Right sided pleural effusion (69.5 %) were more common than left sided (30.4 %). In TPE group the mean pleural fluid ADA level were 86.41±38.08 IU/L (range: 14-195 IU/L). The Malignant Pleural Effusion (MPE) group included 21 patients. In MPE group the mean pleural fluid ADA level were 34.10±32.88 IU/L (range: 8-144 IU/L). The difference in pleural fluid ADA levels between TPE and MPE group was statistically highly significant.Conclusions: Tuberculous pleural effusion was the most common cause of pleural effusion in present study and observed in 74.5% cases

Pyrazole-based analogs as potential antibacterial agents against methicillin-resistance staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its SAR elucidation

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is becoming lethal to humanity due to easy transmission and difficult-to-treat skin and flimsy diseases. The most threatening aspect is the rapid resistance development of MRSA to any approved antibiotics, including vancomycin. The development of new, efficient, and nontoxic drug candidate to fight against MRSA isolates is the need of the hour. The intriguing molecular structure and versatile bioactive pyrazole core attracting to development required novel antibiotics. This review presents the decade developments of pyrazole-containing derivatives with a broad antibacterial movement against diverged bacterial strains. In specific, we correlated the efficacy of structurally diversified pyrazole analogs against MRSA and discussed different angles of structure-activity relationship (SAR). The current survey highlights pyrazole hybrids' present scenario on MRSA studies, covering articles published from 2011 to 2020. This collective information may become an excellent platform to plan and develop new pyrazole-based small MRSA growth inhibitors with minimal side effects. (C) 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

Stress Biomarkers in Vanaraja Chicken Maintained Under Various Rearing Systems

Stress is of major concern for poultry industry because it exerts deleterious effects on different parameters like feed intake, feed conversion ratio, weight gain, etc. In present study various enzymatic viz. superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and non-enzymatic components like reduced glutathione (GSH), hemoglobin and stress induced cellular damage i.e. lipid peroxidation was estimated to access the stress level in Vanaraja chickens reared under various rearing systems during summer. Significantly (p&lt;0.05) increased activities of CAT and SOD was observed in deep litter system as compared to cage and semi-intensive rearing system. However, non-significant change in CAT and significantly increased activity of SOD was observed as the age progress. GSH-Px activity significantly lower (p&lt;0.05) in the deep litter as compared to other systems, however, the activity increases significantly (p&lt;0.05) at 8th wks as compared to 4th wks. GSH level was found maximum in cage system compared to deep litter and semi-intensive system. Non-significant changes were observed in hemoglobin concentration during study both between age groups as well as the age progresses. Observations of the study suggested that cage system is better than deep litter and semi-intensive system in handling the stress induced by different environmental factors

G x E evaluation for feed barley genotypes evaluated in country by AMMI analysis

AMMI analysis of feed barley genotypes exhibited highly significant effects of environments, genotypes and interactions for both the years. The major portion of the total variance was described by the environmental effects up to 45.6% and 42.3% in respective years. The genotypes effects contributed marginally as of only 8.6% and 6.9% of total variation. The significant interaction effects were partitioned into IPCA1, IPCA2 , IPCA3 and IPCA4; which explained upto 42.4, 18.3, 9.7 and 8.1% of the first year and 32.2, 20.3, 15.6 and 10.5% for second year. The cumulative effect of first two interaction principal components comes out to 60.7% and 52.3% respectively. Maximum genotype yield during study period varied from 49.8 to 48 whereas the lowest yield ranged from 37 to 36.4 q/ha. AMMI stability index identified genotypes G9(BH 972), G15(JB 274) for former and G23(DWRB 109) &amp; G2(KB 1205) for latter year. AMMI distance marked G15(JB 274) &amp; G7(NDB 1561) for first and genotypes G26(UPB 1034) &amp; G23(DWRB 109) for the second year. Desirable genotypes for selection would be G11(PL 871), G27(PL 872) and G23(DWRB 109), G20(BH 946) for respective years a per the GSI score. Genotypes with IPCA-1 scores close to zero identified G1(PL 751), G9(BH 972) and G27(PL 872 ) for first year and G5(RD 2786), G4(NDB 1554) and G24 (UPB 1036) for second year would have wider adaptation to the tested environments as per AMMI graphical plots