Green Synthesis of Silver Nano-Particle from Cyanobacteria and Effect on Microalgal Growth and Production of Exopolysaccharide (EPS)

Cyanobacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) are heteropolysaccharides with significant biological importance in various industries. Investigating nanoparticles is gaining interest due to their great potential in improving cyanobacterial growth and co-products accumulation. Nevertheless, green synthesis of nanoparticles offers an alternative, eco-friendly and cost-effective approach to available chemical methods of nanoparticle synthesis. Thus, this study illustrates a novel approach to green synthesizing Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) from marine cyanobacterium Phormidium tenue and investigates their effect on the enhancement of biomass and exopolysaccharide accumulation in the same cyanobacterium by incorporating previously synthesized AgNPs. Firstly, the AgNPs were synthesized from P. teneue by adding 1 mM silver sulfate into the culture medium, and the obtained AgNPs were characterized by using UV-VIS spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, and FTIR. In order to increase the biomass yield and EPS accumulation, P. tenue culture was subjected to different concentrations of AgNPs. Under different concentrations of AgNPs, the biomass yield and exopolysaccharides increased compared to the control condition on the 28th and 35th day of incubation, respectively. The characterization of the obtained EPS was studied by using FTIR which showed a specific absorbance of OH, weak aliphatic C-H stretching, sulfur-containing functional groups, and carboxylic acids, revealing the characteristic feature of EPS

PINE NEEDLE CHARCOAL BRIQUETTES: RURAL TECHNOLOGY OPTION IN PINE FOREST REGION

The use of fuel wood, crop residue or cow dung for cooking is widespread in rural India and, as it is not purchased, is often the only option for the rural poor. Besides the low calorific value of these residues, it also affects the health due to indoor air pollution. Briquette technology can reduce this rural problem. Moreover the technology can also prevent forest fires. They are the annual phenomenon in Himachal Pradesh as the forests are dense and catch fire easily due to natural and man-made reasons. Himalayan forests are rich in Pine trees (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.) and the pine needle is one of the reasons to enhance the forest fire. There is a necessity to handle this forest waste efficiently. This paper attempts to explain the briquetting technology of pine needles and the results showed that a significant improvement in calorific value

Study of grid integrated biomass-based hybrid renewable energy systems for Himalayan terrain

Unutilized pine needles are not only a significant issue of environmental hazards like recurrent forest fires and green house gas emission but also a wastage of resources. The pine needles can be used efficiently for electricity generation. In the present study, simulation research on a grid-connected, sustainable, biomass based hybrid energy system was conceived to examine the feasibility in the western Himalayan territory, and locally available abundant pine needle is used as biomass resource with solar and wind resources as a fuel. The Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software is used to model three distinct configurations of hybrid systems, PV/BM/Grid, PV/BM/WT/Grid, and only Grid for feeding electricity to selected educational building loads currently run by state grid. The analysis found that PV/BM/Grid has the lowest cost of energy 0.102 $/unit with TNPC$42081 and 83% renewable fraction at 0% capacity shortage. The environmental analysis shows that the proposed system will save around 27815 kg CO2/year (equated to the diesel-only system). The outcomes are found to be very pertinent to policy creators, hybrid system designers, and investors in the field of biomass-based hybrid renewable energy systems

Efficacy of Epley’s Maneuver in Treating BPPV Patients: A Prospective Observational Study

Vertigo and balance disorders are among the most common symptoms encountered in patients who visit ENT outpatient department. This is associated with risk of falling and is compounded in elderly persons with other neurologic deficits and chronic medical problems. BPPV is the most common cause of peripheral vertigo. BPPV is a common vestibular disorder leading to significant morbidity, psychosocial impact, and medical costs. The objective of Epley’s maneuver, which is noninvasive, inexpensive, and easily administered, is to move the canaliths out of the canal to the utricle where they no longer affect the canal dynamics. Our study aims to analyze the response to Epley’s maneuver in a series of patients with posterior canal BPPV and compares the results with those treated exclusively by medical management alone. Even though many studies have been conducted to prove the efficacy of this maneuver, this study reinforces the validity of Epley’s maneuver by comparison with the medical management

Global mortality from firearms, 1990-2016

Importance: Understanding global variation in firearm mortality rates could guide prevention policies and interventions. Objective: To estimate mortality due to firearm injury deaths from 1990 to 2016 in 195 countries and territories. Design, Setting, and Participants: This study used deidentified aggregated data including 13 812 location-years of vital registration data to generate estimates of levels and rates of death by age-sex-year-location. The proportion of suicides in which a firearm was the lethal means was combined with an estimate of per capita gun ownership in a revised proxy measure used to evaluate the relationship between availability or access to firearms and firearm injury deaths. Exposures: Firearm ownership and access. Main Outcomes and Measures: Cause-specific deaths by age, sex, location, and year. Results: Worldwide, it was estimated that 251 000 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 195 000-276 000) people died from firearm injuries in 2016, with 6 countries (Brazil, United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guatemala) accounting for 50.5% (95% UI, 42.2%-54.8%) of those deaths. In 1990, there were an estimated 209 000 (95% UI, 172 000 to 235 000) deaths from firearm injuries. Globally, the majority of firearm injury deaths in 2016 were homicides (64.0% [95% UI, 54.2%-68.0%]; absolute value, 161 000 deaths [95% UI, 107 000-182 000]); additionally, 27% were firearm suicide deaths (67 500 [95% UI, 55 400-84 100]) and 9% were unintentional firearm deaths (23 000 [95% UI, 18 200-24 800]). From 1990 to 2016, there was no significant decrease in the estimated global age-standardized firearm homicide rate (-0.2% [95% UI, -0.8% to 0.2%]). Firearm suicide rates decreased globally at an annualized rate of 1.6% (95% UI, 1.1-2.0), but in 124 of 195 countries and territories included in this study, these levels were either constant or significant increases were estimated. There was an annualized decrease of 0.9% (95% UI, 0.5%-1.3%) in the global rate of age-standardized firearm deaths from 1990 to 2016. Aggregate firearm injury deaths in 2016 were highest among persons aged 20 to 24 years (for men, an estimated 34 700 deaths [95% UI, 24 900-39 700] and for women, an estimated 3580 deaths [95% UI, 2810-4210]). Estimates of the number of firearms by country were associated with higher rates of firearm suicide (P < .001; R2 = 0.21) and homicide (P < .001; R2 = 0.35). Conclusions and Relevance: This study estimated between 195 000 and 276 000 firearm injury deaths globally in 2016, the majority of which were firearm homicides. Despite an overall decrease in rates of firearm injury death since 1990, there was variation among countries and across demographic subgroups